TAKING TECH TO TAXIS
MORE THAN 15 MILLION COMMUTERS USE MINIBUS TAXIS TO GET TO SCHOOL OR WORK EVERY DAY. THE INDUSTRY IS A PILLAR OF THE ECONOMY – BUT IT HASN’T BEEN MODERNISED IN ALMOST 50 YEARS. UNTIL NOW, THAT IS.
What does your daily commute look like? Chances are, before you set out for work, you switch on the radio to find out if there are any blockages along your major route. Or maybe you turn on cellphone app Waze, hoping to see where traffic is most banked up so that you can avoid it.
These repor ts have been compiled from data fed in by thousands of road users, representing a lot of effort, time and energy – all because it’s generally agreed that getting to work on time, and safely, is a priority.
It’s just as much a priority for the millions of commuters who get to work via taxi every day. And yet, there’s no such information available to help them, points out Skhona Khumalo, the digital innovator who set out to address this issue with his newly launched app, Khwela.
TAXI INFO IN A SNAP
For those who rely on public transport, Khwela is something like a map and an information kiosk, all in one. Users download their location to find their nearest taxi rank, then double tap on that rank to find out who’s in charge, which destinations are served, which routes they follow and how much a fare costs.This info makes it easier to plan a quick route, but it’s the Khwela Forum that really helps if users have a particular question or concern. This online chat group is the platform to consult to get the latest updates on traffic jams or interruptions caused by strikes. It’s also the place to log complaints or make note of unsettling occurrences at the taxi ranks.
As a result, Khwela is playing a significant role in improving the service provided by taxis. In fact, Khumalo’s team has
engaged with both the National Taxi Alliance and the Faraday Taxi Association, acting as a middleman to pass on feedback and information from commuters.
Obtaining the support of these organisations was key – but it was also difficult, Khumalo says. “Public transport has always posed a challenge in South Africa, but it had reached a stage where those challenges were so ingrained they were simply a part of the way things were done,” he says.The suggestion of an app to update the industry and make it more user-friendly was met with the kind of resistance that usually accompanies change of any sort.“The feeling was that, if things had been working for so many years, why would we need to change them?”
Commuters’ reactions gave a swift and unambiguous response to that question.With hundreds of sign-ups even before the app’s official launch on 30th June, it was Khwela’s ability to answer a need that users hadn’t even known existed that excited them most, Khumalo says.
USING TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE LIVES
This is precisely why Khumalo is obsessed with technology. His love affair started when he was studying at a technical high school, and although he graduated with a degree in commerce, he never lost his fascination with finding out what makes things work.“I was always the kind of kid who wanted to see if they could fix the microwave,” he recalls.
That childlike curiosity is still intact, but Khumalo is increasingly interested in using technology to improve people’s quality of life. Viewed from this perspective, there’s no better time or place for him than right here, right now.
“I love the fact that technology brings us something new, every day.We don’t have to wait 10 years for things to evolve. Nowadays, there’s a game-changing innovation every 10 months. It’s made the world a more dynamic place, and we can harness it to re-mould our minds.”
South Africa is the perfect testing ground for all this newness. There are so many systems that, although far from optimal, have become entrenched as the status quo, that it is the ideal environment for someone who aspires to shape a better world, especially for a population for whom freedom is still a relatively new concept.
When Khumalo left his job in private banking in 2015 to form his own company, Geniusynergy, his goal was to concentrate on using technology to create the kind of change that would help to improve society. It wasn’t hard to identify the transport industry as an area in great need of disruption – but the launch of Khwela is just the first step. His team is also working with universities to empower graduates.This is an important target group because, he notes, first-time job seekers are at a major disadvantage if they can’t use the transport system. Next up comes a focus on women’s safety in time for Women’s Month, with the launch of a panic button that links the app to emergency services. Finally, the first updates to the app will be ready towards the end of the year.
It’s not only commuters who stand to benefit from Khwela. “As soon as the safety and efficiency of a country’s transport system improves, its economy improves too,” Khumalo says. It’s onwards and upwards from here.