The Impending Taxi Debacle in Kenya

A Child of the System

It is true that am a Layman on many matters. Taxi business is not one of them. I drove a taxi in Nairobi for 4 years and am familiar with that territory. I can relate very well with what happens in the industry having spent many nights “in my shoes” as we used to refer to working the night shift. I have experienced my fair share of difficult passengers and have lost my way in this city more times than I care to remember.

For all its seemingly endless challenges, it is this industry that helped to make me what I am today. I learnt to relate with diverse people and personalities. I also learnt to persevere hardships and even have fun while at it. It is an industry that I respect immensely. It is my experiences as a taxi driver that inspired me to start one of my blogs http://acabdriverstory.blogspot.co.za/.

New (Threatening) Kid on the Block

I listened with concern, an incident in which a taxi was reportedly stoned by irate taxi operators. The stoned taxi is said to be operated by a new entrant in the industry, Uber. Uber is an American company that operates in many countries all over the world. It has taken the taxi industry by storm by utilising technology and creating a platform for thousands of car owners to cash in on the taxi business. The concept looks good on paper and has also benefited passengers who have to pay less than they have to pay on regular taxis.

The Uber concept has not gone down well with the usual taxi operators. I can understand them because like I have said before, I am one of them. They are unhappy with what they claim to be undercutting by the new operators. Apparently, Uber is able to charge about half of what other taxis demand for the same distance. Most clients have moved to Uber and some very unhappy people have declared, “Over our dead bodies!”

Territorial

Taxis in Nairobi and other towns in Kenya are highly territorial. Each taxi operates from a specific base and can only pick passengers from within a particular radius. Any taxi that attempts to pick clients outside of its given area will be invading on another’s territory. What this has meant is that once a taxi drops a client, it has to drive back to its base empty even if there is another passenger at the drop zone going back in the same direction.

This is unlike what would happen in the US (I have heard; I’ve never been there) where a taxi can drive continuously for days picking and dropping passengers along the way. This, I think, is how Uber is structured. This then enables an operator to charge the customer for only the distance ferried instead of additionally charging for the empty return trip back to base. This is what is bringing about the huge price disparity between the two operators.

Understandable Concerns

I know I cannot be completely objective on this matter having been one of the players in the past. In spite of this, I still think that these operators have a legitimate concern. They correctly claim that they are being pushed out of business and yet they have commitments using projections based on their current operating model. How far they get in fighting the new comers is still uncertain. I hope they can work out a favourable compromise that will not oppress either side too much.

Wind of Change

It is often said that the only fixed thing is change. When change comes, it comes. There is little anybody can do about it. Addressing the press, the spokesman of the United Kenya Taxi Association admitted that some of the Uber drivers were actually their former members. It will therefore be difficult for the association to be too military in diffusing the stand-off.

Technology

The face of business has changed in recent years with the fast advancement in technology. Mobile phone technology has been the most utilised by taxis and their way of communicating with customers has changed drastically in the last few years. The uptake of other technologies had not picked on in the industry until Uber came along. Now one can book their taxi online. This has never happened before.

Customer is King

‘Money makes the world go round’, so they say. By extension, this means that the one with money can push his world round faster. ‘Customer is King’, goes the modern business mantra. I think that in the end, the winner of the taxi wars will be the one who makes the customer happiest by giving most value for money. Don’t wait for my vote on the matter. I can’t afford taxi fare. Ask me when there is a pedestrian crisis. That is my territory.