Taxi Live: South African e-hailing app promises competitive rates

The newly launched Taxi Live Africa is a proudly South African e-hailing app that aims to compete with and offer better prices than Uber and other e-hailing services.

According to the company, Taxi Live Africa offers more competitive prices per kilometer to passengers. Meanwhile, it also has a better commission rate for its registered drivers than other e-hailing apps.

The app is currently available in Durban and Johannesburg, with plans to roll out to Cape Town as soon as enough drivers are registered.

Taxi Live Africa features

With its soft-launch taking place in late July, Taxi Live Africa provides safety features that passengers have come to expect from an e-hailing app.

According to the company’s founder and CEO Luvuyo Ntshayi, both riders and drivers have access to an SOS button in the app that will call the police.

The app also has a built-in live location tracking link that users can share with contacts.

Ntshayi told Memeburn that Taxi Live Africa is also working on finding a supplier to provide dashcams for all drivers.

The app already has a ride-sharing feature built-in if you want to split your fare. However, in light of the pandemic, this feature will only be enabled once it is safe to do so.

Since the app takes a lower commission from drivers, it aims to provide more competitive rates for trips for passengers.

Passengers can also book rides and larger vehicles for planned trips — similar to airport shuttle services.

This includes larger vehicles (up to 22-seaters) under the rental services in the app, which allow users to book a driver and vehicle.

What makes Taxi Live Africa different?

Much of Taxi Live Africa’s appeal is for drivers who want to register on the service.

The e-hailing app company recognises drivers as shareholders, paying 40% of its profit share to drivers. It also takes a 15% commission, which is lower than most other e-hailing services.

“We believe in socialism and creating real entrepreneurs in our society,”  Ntshayi said in a statement.

According to a report by the Competition Commission in February 2020,  Uber and Bolt took between 19% and 25% (with booking fees included) commission on driver earnings in November 2019.

Tax Live drivers and riders also have access to 24/7 online support, according to the company.

Where to find the Taxi Live Africa e-hailing app

Riders can download the Taxi Live Africa app on the Google Play Store and App Store for free.

The service, available in Durban and Johannesburg, is currently offering a 50% discount on all rides until 15 September 2020.

You can find out more about the service on the Taxi Live Africa website.

Feature image: Taxi Live Africa