SA’s first taxi app to launch at end of month
Ntuza promises to be more than just a normal cab service
THE long-awaited taxi app Ntuza is ready to take over the country – one province at a time.
The new app, said to have cost more than R100 000 to develop, has been on the cards since early last year and has since been tried and tested.
The official launch will take place on August 31.
The app will help clients book cab taxis speedily – in a similar fashion to the Uber app.
After its launch, clients will be able to pick the kind of car they want and know exactly how much it will cost to get to their destination, its developer Eugene Mfaka told Saturday Dispatch this week.
Mfaka, 50, boss of the Mdantsaneborn taxi and shuttle services, said the new cab service promised to be easy on the pocket while offering good vehicles in the following categories: budget, shuttle, style and exclusive.
Mfaka, who has been in the transport business for more than 30 years, said the app was more than just a taxi service.
“We have also found ways of eradicating other social ills through the use of the same app.
“We tackle things like human trafficking and have embedded a panic button on the app, which calls for the police in times of emergencies.
“We have also managed to get a few retailers and food outlets on board – Pick n Pay, KFC, Nando’s and Debonairs to name a few.
“The partnership will allow us to deliver groceries on the doorsteps of our clients. There are cases where elderly people can’t be standing in queues at the end of the month, and then they can thumNtuza [send Ntuza].”
Mfaka boasted of his more than 40 vehicles with drivers who had undergone training for great etiquette.
“People always assume that to be a driver all you need is a driver’s licence but my drivers know better. It’s about having etiquette and being presentable. All of which makes a passenger feel more at ease and comfortable,” he said.
Mfaka said he first saw the need for the app when people mistook his shuttle service for a cab service.
“I saw the need in meeting the demands of my customers who are always urgently in need of transportation instantly, something I could not offer as a shuttle service because in most cases vehicles were pre-booked.
“So you would find that by the time a shuttle is responding to a call, the client has either cancelled the trip or simply doesn’t answer the phone, which has been very costly for me.
“With the new app, customers pay for the ride either by cash, credit/debit card or airtime before the vehicle moves for collection.
“Clients can track the vehicle and have all the details of the driver available to them, to establish their whereabouts and to validate the authenticity of the driver.” — mbalit@dispatch.