Somaliland has just gotten its first ever online on-demand taxi hailing service dubbed Waryaa Taxi. The service will accord commuters in Somalia the convenience the rest of the world has been enjoying. The convenience of calling a cab from your smartphone or computer, and it pulls up right at your doorstep.
The taxi service is modeled after Uber. So if you have used Uber, you’ll feel right at home with Waryaa Taxi. That aside, if you know anything about Somaliland, it must be that the Horn of Africa country currently lacks fixed tariffs and meters, making the cost of commuting very unpredictable. The country also has spotty internet connection, so to workaround that problem, Waryaa Taxi allows commuters to book not just over the internet, but also over phone calls to the call center to get a driver assigned to them.
“Waryaa Taxi is a creation of individuals who were tired of overpaying for taxis. They were also concerned about the security of many taxis in the region. Waryaa Taxi is safe, cheap and convenient,” said Omar Kodah, co-founder/CEO of Waryaa Taxi.
“The application connects taxi drivers and passengers allowing them to experience a fast, convenient and safe ride, at just a tap of button,”
The Waryaa services are currently only available in Hargeisa parts of Somalia, but it is set to soon launch in the capital Mogadishu, and Puntland in the northeastern parts of the country. The startup has the same growth plan as Uber or any other taxi-hailing app across the world; partnering with drivers in main cities.
The startup is also eyeing neighboring countries like Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya. The app is currently available on Android platform and only in regional languages like Amharic, Somali, and Swahili. It also included international languages like English and French.