Nigerians are developing preference for formalised motorbike hailing services, (popularly known as Okada) and this is attracting drivers of cab-hailing companies, who are willing to become bike riders.
A reporter at BusinessDay’s found this out from a series of conversations with some drivers of Bolt, formerly known as Taxify that offers cab hailing services in Lagos and many other cities across the globe. These conversations showed that the drivers were contemplating a move to ORide, a new and innovative on-demand motorbike ride-hailing service due to the high demand for the service.
Most Taxify drivers are complaining that ORide bike riders are taking their customers away and thereby affecting their revenues.
“Most of the drivers I know have now moved to ORide and I am contemplating moving too; because I am not making enough money as before. I have been doing this business for two years now. Before I would make about N50, 000-N70, 000 a week but now, I make less than that. I am not getting enough rides as before,” Ibrahim Yusuf, a Taxify rider complained.
ORide service was launched in May 2019, with initial operations flagging off in Lagos. The service has since expanded into other cities like Ibadan. Driven by technology, the ORide service is accessible via the OPay app – a super app that’s available on Android and iOS, with features that cater to a range of lifestyle demands including food order and delivery, utility bills payment, cash access and more.
Its flagship motorbike models of 200cc engine specification aimed at servicing long-distance trip requests as well as ORide Street, its lighter offering to cater to shorter intra-city trips.
Before ORide came into the market, there was Gokada, motorbike hailing service which was launched in 2018 but it has partially shut down operations to re-strategise after the chief executive officer faced operational hurdles during a ride.
Typically, an ORide driver earns at least N5, 000 in a day and only pays N1, 000 to the company, unlike a Taxify driver that pays 15 percent of each ride to his company.
Bamidele Adams, another Taxify rider said, “Even when Taxify reduced the fare prices to enable them to get more customers, it has not been favourable to us. We now work extra hours. Healthwise, a driver is meant to spend 12 hours on the road even though Taxify is a 24 hours service. And now, these ORiders have made it worse by taking our customers. It is only weekends that I get enough rides, unlike the weekdays.”
A frequent ORide passenger said that most times when he is going to work he takes it and that it is only on special occasions that he takes cabs. “These bike riders can beat through traffic, they have safety gears, raincoats to protect you while riding and you hardly hear of accidents from them,” Kemi Atutu, a rider said.
The Okada business is not new in Nigeria as it goes as far back as the 1990s. Given their size, they can fit into small spaces that cars cannot and this makes them a faster means of transportation in both rural areas and even urban cities. With the poor state of roads in the country, they are able to ply very rough terrains and get passengers to their destinations on time.
Before ORide came into the picture, people preferred taxis or buses as against Okada riding due to the fact that most of the riders are not properly trained had safety gears and were prone to accidents and robberies.
In 2012, Babatunde Fashola, the former governor of Lagos state placed a total ban on commercial motorcycle (Okada) operation in Ikeja area of Lagos due to the increasing rate of criminality facilitated with bikes.
BUNMI BAILEY
