Global ride-hailing service provider, Taxify, has increased the number of Nigerian cities it operates in. The Estonian transport company which already operates in four Nigerian cities – Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan and Owerri – has added Benin City, Edo state to its growing list of cities it operates in.
Taxify started operations in Nigeria in November 2016. Since then it has witnessed exponential growth expanding from Lagos to Abuja, Ibadan, Owerri and now Benin city. Speaking on the company’s expansion, Uche Okafor, country manager for Taxify in Nigeria said, “Adding a new city to our Nigerian network emphasises our continued focus on launching ride-hailing services in more towns and cities across the country, outside of the obvious main centres.”
With this launch in Benin, Taxify which seems to edge as the leading hailing service provider in Nigeria will provide more healthy competition for other organizations in the expanding car-hailing service market in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. Uber, another global ride-hailing service provider in Nigeria and Taxify’s primary competition, has been less focused on expansion within Nigeria. Unlike Taxify, Uber has only maintained a presence in Lagos and the country’s capital, Abuja. It has made no further expansion within Nigeria even as Taxify continues to wax stronger launching operation in different parts of the country.
However, the presence of both Uber and Taxify in Nigeria has inspired the evolution of many other hailing service providers in Nigeria that operates in remote areas with the view to expand over time. These companies provide hailing services not only in cars but also on Motorcycles to navigate easily in traffic situations. Turide is one of such car-hailing service providers in Northern Nigeria dubbed ‘Northern Uber.’ The indigenous transportation network company offer seamless services with an innovative mobile application that allows passengers to reach their destination with ease. Turide’s services are restricted to Northern Nigeria, Kano and Kaduna precisely but with a vision to expand to other parts of the country.
Zigamu is another car-hailing service that launched in Owerri, south-south Nigeria, and has moved on to expand to neighbouring Enugu. It is operating there as the first ride-hailing startup in the south-south region of Nigeria to expand to other states. The launch of Taxify and Uber in Nigeria has no doubt birthed other local hailing service providers’ including Pam Drive in Port Harcourt, My Cabman in Abuja, Enugu and Calabar, Gokada, and Maxokada.
The presence and expansion of these car-hailing companies in Nigeria’s e-hailing market space provide synonymous innovative ride-hailing services to Nigerians in zones where they operate to ensure Nigerians have the option of a quick, safe and convenient mode of transportation within cities around the country.
