South Africans have yet another electronic ride-hailing option available to them with the launch of a homegrown e-hailing app called Taxi Live Africa.

Launched recently in Durban, the app allows metered, private and owner-operated taxis to take part. The company joins an already crowded market that includes international e-hailing companies such as Bolt, inDriver and market-leader Uber Technologies.

“Taxi Live Africa has been designed to give metered taxi drivers as well as private and owner taxi drivers their own app,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This app will allow them to operate in a competitive marketplace and give passengers an affordable and safe transport solution.”

The app was “soft-launched” in Durban at the end of last month and has received about 700 registrations so far.

Drivers in Johannesburg and Cape Town have also started using the app, the company said. It plans to roll out formally to these two cities “within weeks” and then expand to other South African cities in the “coming months”.
“The objective is to attract as many licensed taxi drivers as possible nationally,” the company said.

The app has been developed with the metered and licensed taxi driver market in South Africa in mind.

Key features

A key feature includes an emergency button for both user and driver, who can add a trusted contact number of a friend or family member during their trip and then share the trip. In case of an emergency, they can click on a button in the app and it will immediately alert the person who has been added that there’s a potential problem. The trusted contact can then trace the route the vehicle is taking and seek relevant assistance, if needed.

There is also live chat support, with both users and drivers able to chat in real time to the Taxi Live Africa support team and receive a quick response to any of their queries.

To register as a Taxi Live Africa driver, several criteria need to be met, the company said: vehicles may not be older than six years; they must be four-door cars; and drivers must supply all certificates and permits.

Card and cash payments are both accepted.