Don tasks government on sustainability of e-hailing rides in Nigeria
Dean, School of Transport, Lagos state University, Prof. Samuel Dean, Odewumi has applauded the emergence of the e-hailing ride in the country, urging government at all levels to ensure the sustainability of the innovation.
Odewumi said the concept has come to stay. Even as it is not yet a roaring success.
According to him, the managing application is designed to tax the riders for the time spent in gridlock or the movement from one point to the other.
This assertion comes as a new ride-hailing application; Solride, was launched recently by Solchos Kefani Limited, at its Lagos office in Nigeria.
Speaking on the effects of gridlock as regards the innovation, Odewumi said gridlock will surely have negative effects on the growth of the emerging transport business but “I have no doubt it will thrive.”
“More and more car owners will hate to be trapped behind the wheel in the traffic. They will rather pay a little more and be free to make some calls on the phone, checking their mails and running their offices virtually.
“When you combine that with the motorcycle e-hailing you have a concept that has come to stay. What I may not be able to predict is the reaction of our usually unpredictable governments. They may come up with a debilitating policy that will depress the business in the name of generation of revenue, “he added.
Speaking on threat of the e-hailing ride, he said: “other transport operators that are not enrolled yet in the e-hailing, for instance, the Okada riders are not in good terms with the Oride or Opay. The airport taxis are not happy with TAXIFY. They are competitors. The relationship must be well managed or else there may be some fracas in the near future.
“Also most of the operators are those that convert their cars to the e-hailing vehicles, to make ends meet after losing their jobs or business. They are not likely to recoup on investment in their cars. It’s just a short term survival strategy.”
He said the issue of safety for both operators and riders are not fully resolved. Many of the operators are regularly killed and their vehicles were stolen.
