Ride-hailing is changing transportation in Enugu
by Stella Inabo
Until recent times, many Enugu residents would have considered the idea of hailing a ride on their smartphones from the comfort of their homes as a phenomenon associated with larger and busier cities like Lagos and Abuja.
Yet in a town like Enugu, with a less dense population and numerous buses, cabs and kekes to cater to its population, ride-hailing companies are selling the idea of quick, convenient, and cost-effective transportation easily.
People got around fairly easily within Enugu before the arrival of online ride-hailing services. Commercial vehicles with cheap fares are accessible everywhere except in some areas at night and during bad weather.
From Independence layout to Emene, yellow kekes and cabs convey passengers that use their phones to summon a ride. Major players in the new market have rolled out promos, subsidizing prices and luring users in with the promise of convenience and comfort at cheap rates.
Asides from the motivation for profit, these companies have entered into the transport industry to change the way we think about and perceive transportation to leave behind life-changing impact.
The sound of a repetitive high pitched beep emerges from the phones of keke riders signaling the requests of customers for a trip. Some drivers delay clicking and accepting the rides, waiting for the highest bidder. Others are just happy to earn whatever appears on their screens. The business of transporting passengers is now different for Enugu drivers.
Armed with smartphones paid for using hire-purchase, they can get customers without the haggling and are paid based on the duration of the trip, the distance covered and the base amount.
Some drivers make up to 15,000 naira as a daily average, much higher than former earnings.
However, this new system is not without its problems. Using technology demands that drivers learn how to navigate the use of devices. Although not foreign to some, not all drivers know what to do with their phones, but they learn from other riders and helpful customers and in a way, they are becoming tech-savvy.
The hazards of the road await, with law enforcement agents expecting their palms to be greased. They also have to deal with ill-treatment from other drivers.
Sometimes, they have to keep out of public parks to avoid confrontations. Indeed, progress always comes with its unique problems.
Even though ride-hailing apps have influenced the transportation scene, its impact has not been felt among independent keke drivers.
There remains a large pool of customers who get rides to their destinations in the old fashioned way. Also, not everyone with a smartphone has signed up on a ride-hailing platform.
Some people would rather walk to a nearby road and hail a keke themselves. In areas outside the capital of Enugu, ride-hailing has not fully caught on but one is very likely to come across a keke with a rider transporting a client who has hailed him from his phone.
For the customers, they are happy to buy into convenience and comfort. Hailing rides in Enugu is cost-efficient because the prices have been driven down due to subsidized ride offers by various companies. The low rates were very essential to convincing people to use the ride-hailing apps as most people would see no benefit in using their devices to get a ride that costs the same as a conventional cab or keke.
The low prices would not always last but what does is the association of comfort and satisfaction with using these services. Customers would most likely be willing to pay a little higher just to continue enjoying easy transit.
It is not always happy moments with these services though as customers are sometimes forced to use conventional rides when running late and unable to successfully hail a ride.
Using the conventional methods of moving around can be discomforting but it also serves as a reminder of how essential the new ride-hailing services are to the residents of Enugu.
System glitches occur and bad network connection may interfere in bill payment. In cases like this, the customer is then required to pay the rider whatever amount has been billed for the trip. This is one of the consequences of technology in Nigeria. There is a high possibility that it could fail at the most inconvenient times.
Ride-hailing service platforms did not arrive alone in Enugu. They came with payment platforms that are either separate or integrated into apps where people can pay for electricity bills, a movie ticket, order food or buy gas with Oma or Opay. These companies are not only selling convenient transportation but they are reorienting the way we perceive bill payments.
Enugu has a huge network of tertiary institutions with a tech-savvy youth population willing to explore these services.
By bringing opportunities to drivers and convenience to the riders, these platforms will continue to disrupt and improve the transportation industry.
Logistics, delivery and waybill options especially for out of state are still run by regular transport companies but brands like Onella are slowly tapping into the market.
Enugu is a land of opportunity that welcomes and absorbs all who stay to invest. Yet, even with the best of intentions, this disruption of the transport industry by technology could create casualties that we are yet to understand or discover.
