When traditional taxi drivers in Nairobi protested against Uber by attacking their drivers, I questioned why the drivers should result to that rather than re-strategise. Well, this is no longer a surprise to me as I had a firsthand experience of riding in an Uber cab during this long independence day holiday.
I went to Ikeja City Mall with my BAE from Akoka on Saturday, October 1st. Until then I have never used Uber even though I have the app on my phone. I tried Uber Select several times but it was picked by drivers on the Island. Luckily, I was told by one of the drivers to try UberX. I attempted UberX again and within a few minutes, an elegant, clean, neat, and stylish Toyota Corolla appeared and we got in. And since it was my first ride, it was absolutely free!
During the ride, I compared Uber with the regular taxi cabs. And I realised that if they continue running their services like that, Uber will dominate and eventually knock them out of business.
The shortcomings of the Lagos taxis are indiscriminate fares, wobbly, rickety and unkempt cars and poor customer services. And of course, the very high tendency for mechanical faults that may lead to intermittent stoppages during your journey.
Perhaps very soon the Lagos Taxi drivers will become disgruntled, and may result to harassing Uber drivers even if they operate on a level playing ground.
We left ICM at about 10pm after having a good time. Again, we requested an Uber and it was same sterling service. As we were walking out to meet our driver, I noticed the regular Lagos taxis calling out for passengers but no one answered. I guess Lagosians are getting used to Uber.
I hope the taxi drivers will realise soon enough that no one will patronise them unless they improve their services or join the Uber bandwagon. The question is will they because very few people favour change. They want the status quo to continue. But with Uber, the taxi services dynamics have changed!
