The user interface where customers use to get in touch with Maramoja Transport taxis. PHOTO | FILE
When Jason Eisen toured Nairobi in 2010 and then again in 2013,
he faced a common problem — transport woes within Kenya’s capital.
Transport
challenges frustrated the Washington DC-based consultant prompting him
to start sharing his experience with his acquaintances.
“As
I discussed these challenges with scores of Nairobians, I quickly began
to understand that I was not alone lamenting them. I remember flying
back to Washington, DC, after a particularly difficult transport
experience here, and on the day I landed, using something like nine
different modes of transport, all powered by technology,” recalls Mr
Eisen.
At that moment, he began to reflect on how technology could be applied to alleviate some of Nairobi’s transport woes.
Mr Eisen quit his job three months later and returned to Kenya to explore the transport business idea.
“A
unique picture began to emerge, of a taxi culture not a taxi market,
built around trust rather than anonymity, relationships rather than
proximity. A view of taxis as individuals rather than just a function,”
said Mr Eisen.
BACKGROUND CHECKS
Mr
Eisen then joined efforts with Mr Steve Kimani to establish Maramoja
Transport. Maramoja was launched at iHub’s five-year tech anniversary,
which brought together several technology companies on March 7, this
year.
The company, however, had been running for a while before then.
The
socially powered transport start-up operates through an app on
smartphones, where potential customers view all taxi drivers within
their vicinity through GPS before requesting services from one.
The
taxi drivers are, however, sourced through referrals from customers,
who have used their services before or from fellow taxi drivers.
“Users
can quickly request a trusted taxi from their smartphone, seeing
exactly where all available drivers are via GPS tracking, and review the
driver’s credentials before accepting him,” says Mr Eisen.
According
to Mr Eisen, Maramoja has built a network of 150 taxis and private hire
drivers around Nairobi and is still adding new drivers every day.
However, Maramoja conducts thorough background checks before adding any new driver to its platform.
“We
respect the local taxi culture of trust and referrals and don’t want to
force some other country’s taxi habits on Kenya. Instead, we seek to
bring technology driven tools that reinforce this culture and make it
easier, faster, and safer to move about Nairobi,” Mr Eisen says.
“Any driver that can pass our credentials verification and screening can work with us as a driver partner,” Mr Eisen adds.
The
drivers have fixed charges regardless of the time of the day or weather
under which they are working. For instance, the drivers charge Sh350 to
Kilimani from the CBD and Sh700 for customers heading to Nairobi West
from the city centre.
EXPANSION PLANS
The
company is also offering other services to augment its earnings. “We
have also integrated emergency response services from a leading private
security company to provide an extra level of security,” Mr Eisen adds.
These achievements, however, have not been achieved through a smooth ride.
“Our
biggest challenges so far have been around creating awareness that such
a service exists and persuading drivers to try it out since many taxi
drivers are fiercely independent, accustomed to working informally, and
setting their own charges,” Mr Eisen says.
He is, however, quick to note that it has now reached a point where drivers are actively seeking to join the network.
Maramoja
is now competing against two other taxi apps Uber and EasyTaxi, for
customers in Nairobi. It plans to roll out to other parts of the country
later this year.
“As soon as we’ve
stabilised our growth here in Nairobi, we’ll be looking to expand to
other Kenyan cities as well as other African capitals. Nakuru is looking
particularly intriguing with their city-wide WiFi,” Mr Eisen says.
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