The taxi-hailing technology space is becoming more competitive, with new entrants coming in to seek a slice of what is Africa’s biggest market for the service. A new player in the space is Smart Cab, a ride hailing service which deploys free Wi-Fi in its cabs as an added service to attract potential passengers.
Smart Cab was launched in Lagos on February 28, 2017; its initiators now have their sights set on having the cabs run in major cities across Nigeria. According to Smart Cab’s country manager, Jubril Arogundale, the company’s target is to “make sure that all Nigerians have access to top-notch transport services.” Speaking at the launch of Smart Cab, he said that the cab company’s investment model gives potential investors ample room to generate revenue for themselves.
Smart Cab seeks to rival other ride hailing platforms by attracting customers with its free, in-cab Airtel enabled Wi-Fi offering. And although the majority of the cabs in its fleet are owned by the company, car owners who wish to enlist their cars for the service can partner with it. Drivers on the Smart Cab platform get to share only about 15 percent of their earnings with the company- an attractive rate, considering the fact that other taxi-hailing services collect up to 25 percent of revenues.
Arogundele and his colleagues at Smart Cab want the public to believe that its selling points- its cab internet access and the relatively low share of revenue that it demands from its drivers –are things that they should heartily take advantage of.
Smart Cab’s services can be accessed in Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Benin, and Abuja.