MARAMOJA, A New Taxi Hailing Service Launches In Nairobi
There is a new kid on the block, looking to give Uber and Easy Taxi a run for their money. Dubbed MARAMOJA, it is the new taxi hailing service to launch in Nairobi, where Easy Taxi and Uber have already set up camp.
MARAMOJA, the self-proclaimed Kenya’s own and the world only socially-powered transport app. Says it understands the unique taxi conditions in Nairobi as the city is unique.
Jason Eisen from MARAMOJA told Techmoran, “This is because Nairobi doesn’t have a taxi market, we have a taxi culture. Nairobi’s taxi culture is built around values like trust, loyalty, and relationships. Finding a ride in Nairobi has never been a problem, it’s about finding a trusted ride, quickly, reliably, and at a fair price.
We, Nairobians, want to ride (and drive for) the people we know and the people we know we can trust. Trust in this context is really only determined by who we know directly and who our friends know, not by credentials that can be easily obtained on River Road.”
Users can sign up without needing a credit card, and the service also accepts mobile money payments such as M-Pesa and Airtel Money. The prices charged are fixed; thus passengers will not find themselves in a heated argument with the drivers regarding the fair price that is supposed to be charged. Users get to know exactly how much it will cost to travel from point A to B. You also pay the same amount regardless of whether it rains, the sun shines, it’s day or night time and even if traffic is a nightmare.
Eisen further said, “Our Web app works across all smartphone platforms as well as from your desktop/laptop. Our Android App is in the play store as well.”
MARAMOJA is joining a market currently dominated by East Taxi and Uber. The former is engaged in an aggressive marketing campaign that has seen it hire sales agents going from door to door with Easy Taxi vouchers to try and get more people using their app. The latter is using events to sign up more users. Thus, MARAMOJA has its work all cut out for it, so it needs to prove that it can deliver.