The number of ride-hailing platforms is on the increase in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial center. Buoyed by the growing mobile penetration in cities, ride-hailing platforms have warmed its way into the hearts of customers.
Gone are the days when the only option for public transportation was either hopping on the rusty and dirty yellow buses popularly called “Danfo and Molues” or hailing taxis by the roadsides. Now when commuters scroll through their smartphones for a ride-hailing app, cars are no longer the only option that shows up, motorcycle-hailing startups also.
Parked at strategic junctions in the city, their motorcycles and helmets come in different colors ranging from Orange, Green, and Yellow. The idea of an on-demand, flexible transport service to get around Lagos’ hours-long traffic jams and congestion is an appealing proposition for millions of residents, it’s also cheaper compared with established car-hailing services like Uber and Taxify.
According to TechSci Research report, South Africa, Nigeria, and Tanzania are the largest two-wheeler markets in Africa. The report also predicted that the two-wheeler market in Africa will cross US$ 9 billion by 2021.
The two-wheeler market in Africa has been segmented into two categories, namely, motorcycle and scooter. Among these categories, the motorcycle segment dominated the continent’s two-wheeler market in 2015, owing to various associated advantages such as quicker acceleration, better engine capacity, large fuel tank, larger, and easy maintenance.
Moreover, booming motorcycle taxis business in African countries is further augmenting demand for motorcycles in the continent buoyed by rapid urbanization, growing population and inadequate means of transportation, the segment is anticipated to maintain its dominance over the next five years as well.
Chinyere Ezenwa a regular user of both bike and car-hailing services said most commuters start a journey with a bus or taxi, and alight to complete the journey on a bike, or I could be in a bus or taxi and if the traffic is so intense I could alight and board a bike to my final destination, but complained about the stress of having to download several apps on his android phone.
“Why should ordering a Bike be on a totally different application and ordering a car be on another different standalone application,” she queried
“I don’t see any reason why bike hailing platforms can’t partner with a Gidicab/Uber/Taxify & integrate the bike & ride-hailing service to a single application,” she added.
Riding an okada could be very risky because of the recklessness associated with riders. Interestingly, the new motorcycle hailing companies are trying to position their new offering as a safer means by emphasizing features such as carrying one passenger on a trip, insist passengers wear helmets and training their riders to comply with traffic laws.
The players in the motorcycle hailing market are not only winning customers also investors. Recently, Gokada raised $5.3million in a Series A round led by Rise Capital. Opera, an internet company known for its Opera Mini browser, launched Oride in Lagos, while SafeBoda, the East Africa player, has also announced an expansion into the Nigerian market.
The bike and car-hailing platforms now have to compete for the passengers. The advantage of being more flexible and faster than cars in traffic has made motorcycles more appealing to passengers who are always in haste to reach their destinations.
Femi Adu, a commuter noted that the proliferation of ride-hailing platforms is a good development for customers as they now have several platforms to select from.
“The Ride hailing provider that would emerge King in this business is the one that combines these methods of road transport (Bike option, Regular Car option, Premium Car option even Keke- Tricycle option) coupled with value-adding services such as parcel and food delivery. Imagine a situation where I can be in a car and if the traffic is too intense, I would transition my journey to a bike still on that same application.
I don’t need to have all of these on different applications when it’s serving one purpose – taking me to my destination,” he said.
Users download an app, sign up, request rides and branded motorcycles show up on-demand. But as an added feature, users can also hail branded bikes on the street as with standard okadas. Then the passenger pairs up via the app to start a journey.
The biggest down risk to motorcycle hailing platforms remains government regulations and sanctions. In 2012, the Lagos State Government imposed a ban on motorcycles from plying major roads in the state, especially motorcycle with less than 200 cylinder capacity. Gokada and Max.ng have attempted to maneuver that ban by providing their riders with motorcycles above that threshold but it has not proven enough to ensure a smooth ride: both companies had their bikes seized by the state government in March for violating state road laws.
OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE
