The South African Meter Taxi Association has launched a high-tech new smartphone app, dubbed YooKoo Ride, that is designed to help level the playing field by enabling taxis to compete with Uber vehicles, which are increasingly favored due to their customer service-focused experience.
The YooKoo Ride app helps South Africa's traditional metered taxis enter the digital age by allowing customers to use a smartphone app to connect with taxis. In addition to typical ride-hailing features, this taxi app also comes with a special panic button feature which enables customers to call police if they feel threatened by a driver.
While it appears that Uber is here to stay, the YooKoo Ride taxi app bids to tackle and reduce some of the resentment between Uber and traditional taxis by allowing taxis to compete on a more even footing using the smartphone app environment.
Metered Taxi Apps
This App Helps South African Taxis Use Technology to Compete With Uber
Trend Themes
1. Smartphone Taxi Apps - Traditional meter taxis can benefit from developing their own ride-hailing smartphone apps to compete with Uber.
2. Safety Features in Taxi Apps - Developing safety features for ride-hailing apps, such as panic buttons, can enhance the overall user experience.
3. Leveling the Playing Field in Ride-hailing Industry - The development of YooKoo Ride app is a step towards creating a more competitive ride-hailing industry in which traditional taxi services can more effectively compete with Uber.
Industry Implications
1. Transportation - The development of ride-hailing apps creates opportunities for taxi services to adopt technology and compete in a changing industry.
2. Mobile App Development - There is an opportunity for companies specializing in mobile app development to work with traditional taxi services to create competing offering to Uber.
3. Safety and Security - Safety and security companies can explore opportunities to develop features for taxi apps that enhance user safety and security in ride-hailing experiences.