Taxi industry moves in new direction

Buz ‘iTaxi is an app that has been created by local company, Tom Tracks, who specialise in tracking systems.

The app will allow customers to access taxi services any time and anywhere with ease.

This means that passengers will be able to call a taxi, book a taxi for a journey, rate the service they received from the driver and the vehicle at a touch of a few buttons.

Commuters will also be able to navigate taxi ranks of where they want to go plus how much it will cost them before even starting their journey.

Furthermore, just by typing in a vehicle registration number, taxi associations will be able to check if their taxis are on the roads, whether a taxi is operating illegally and to whom the vehicle is registered.

Founder and CEO of Tom Tracks, Fanele Mnguni, says the app has been created to help the taxi industry respond to its commuters demands.

“This app can be downloaded and used for free from Google Play Store or by any smart phone that is GPS enabled.

“With the app, taxi associations will be able to see where actual transport demand is and when a passenger rates a taxi driver’s service, the information will go straight to the taxi association,” he says.

However, he emphasises that this is not being done to oppress drivers, but is to benefit the industry as it faces a lot of competition.

“We want taxi associations to be able to fix their problems and capitalise on their success.

“This service will start with the Springs Taxi Association, and then it will roll it out to other areas.

“We will also have roadshows at various spots including taxi ranks to help locals get familiar with this new development,” Mnguni says.

Springs Taxi Association chairperson, Velly Mbatha says finding people who have shown an interest in the development of the taxi industry is like a dream come true for the association.

“Technology has improved daily in the country for other sectors and at some point we thought we had been forgotten about.

“When BRT buses came, taxis were regarded as moving coffins, but now we have found people who want to see this change and our industry move to a recommended and safe level that commuters can be happy about, so we are grateful,” he says.

Mbatha adds that many customers have complained about the misconduct of some drivers and that it was not always easy to identify those drivers, but through this initiative, it will be easy to identify them.

He adds that a company has promised to install WiFi in all their taxis, which the association is pleased about.

“All of this will help us with assessment of our work performance and will improve safety operating procedures while minimising crime, as the public will have access to the association easily.

“We are now in the process of encouraging owners to register their drivers onto the system so it will be easy for employees to have a proper work profile,” says Mbatha.