Cape Town – South Africa has a locally developed ride sharing application that seeks to match travellers with drivers.
The app startup uGoMyWay is better defined as a car-pooling service which matches drivers with passengers travelling to the same destination.
But it’s not aimed at taking on ride sharing giant Uber, now valued at over $50bn.
“Fortunately, we are not in the same market as Uber. We would not want to compete with them. Uber is very much an e-hailing go-somewhere-now solution. It’s a shame they used the term ‘ride share’, as theirs is a very twisted definition of it,” uGoMyWay team member Patho Tebese told Fin24.
The app - which was developed in Cape Town suburb Kenilworth - is a modern take on getting a lift to work or school.
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“It involves making a connection between a driver and passenger who go the same way to share the journey and the costs. In our case the commute to work or school are the best examples,” said Tebese.
Uber has been the subject of derision for the perception that it contravenes laws governing taxi services and the new National Land Transport Amendment Bill specifies new terms of service for ride hailing applications.
READ: Uber welcomes 'tough' SA transport law
“The regulatory framework recognises car-pooling and lift clubs as being quite different from commercial passenger arrangements. As does the insurance industry,” said Tebese.
uGoMyWay is available from the Google Play Store and currently operates in Cape Town.
“We are focussed on schools, universities, corporates and government,” Tebese said.
“The app is available for download throughout South Africa, but our hands-on activation model might require a presence in the major cities to ensure successful uptake,” he added.
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