New app by local developers set to change the way SA commutes
JOBURG – The brainchild of two former roommates, City One is the smart commuters’ app of the moment.
Getting to and from work is expensive and time-consuming and gridlock is a problem in most of South Africa’s big cities – a problem that Gugulethu Mhlanga and Simphiwe Kuse set out to solve with City One, a ride-sharing app that will transform the lives of thousands of commuters.
The app is designed to offer a viable alternative to the daily commute in a self-driven vehicle. It operates much like any other call-a-cab system except you share your ride with others. You tell City One what time you expect to leave, from where, and your destination. The app then links you to others in your vicinity who are travelling at the same time in the same general direction.
City One is the brainchild of Mhlanga and Kuse who share a deep-seated belief that they can help decrease rush-hour traffic congestion by building a commuting culture – while helping people reduce their travel costs. At the same time, City One drivers have been subjected to a number of stringent tests – for driving ability, character and trustworthiness.
Mhlanga and Kuse met when they were sharing a room at the University of Cape Town and are passionate about improving the quality of African lives through technology. They believe young people, from any background, can learn how to code and if many young people are taught the skill of coding, they can go on to establish their own companies that might solve many of Africa’s biggest struggles – from health, crime, finance, and transport to food security and education.
“I struggled to understand coding for about two years but with persistence, I eventually got it. I spent nights googling how to build all sorts of apps – a calculator, a budgeting app and a few games among them. The most important thing I took away from the process was that programming is learnt much faster through building projects than trying to grasp the syntax,” said Mhlanga.
City One was featured as App of the Day and App of the Week on the App Store and can be used in Joburg and Cape Town initially.
