Safaricom to Join Taxi Service Industry with Littlecabs App

Safaricom Kenya in collaboration with Craft Silicon, a Nairobi based software developer are in the process of launching an online taxi app dubbed “Littlecabs” that is expected to rival with Uber.

In an interview with Reuters, Safaricom’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore said that the company has settled in that line business as a move to seek new sources of revenue and that the services are expected to be cheaper and better for Kenyans.

Collymore disclosed that the services that will be offered by Littlecabs will be cheaper as compared to Uber is currently offering and that the services will be operational in the coming one month.

Uber started its operations in Kenya a year ago and has attracted many customers as well as drivers due to their affordable prices. This led to rivalry between them and the local taxi drivers as they said that the taxi company had taken over their market and presented them with stiff competition and that on many occasions they have had to go without passengers because they have all run to Uber.

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This led to the local taxi drivers staging attacks to Uber drivers, to the extent of even burning their vehicles thus forcing the authorities to take action in rescue of Uber.

The two firms are set to roll-out the Little Drivers service starting with 2,000 drivers, formerly of Easy Taxi, which exited the Kenyan and African markets last month after a decision by one of its investors, American firm Goldman Sachs, to direct all its investments towards Uber. Littlecabs is also set to absorb more than 20 employees who were formally under Easy Taxi.