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Taxis for women driven by women launched in Nairobi


Nairobi women will soon exclusively enjoy the services of taxis driven by women courtesy of newly launched taxi-hailing app, Little Cabs.

The initiative, a joint venture between Safaricom and Craft Silicon, was launched on Wednesday and is meant to guarantee the safety of women who are often harassed during the night by regular drivers.

Dubbed ‘Lady Bug’ the cabs will offer normal services during the day to all customers but after 6pm only women will be allowed to hire the vehicles.

The new app has been developed by Safaricom with the help of Craft Silicon, a Nairobi-based enterprise, in a bid to outmatch the competition.

Craft Silicon CEO, Kamal Budhabhatti (left) with Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore, and one of the lady drivers of Little Cab during the launch of the taxi-hailing app in Nairobi. PHOTO | COURTESY
Craft Silicon CEO, Kamal Budhabhatti (left) with Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore, and one of the lady drivers of Little Cab during the launch of the taxi-hailing app in Nairobi. PHOTO | COURTESY

FREE WI-FI

Little Cabs will also offer free Wi-Fi, cheaper fares and greater share of revenue for the drivers. The new app will be available on Android and Windows phones, but not iOS for the time being.

According to Craft Silicon CEO Kamal Budhabhatti, 40 female drivers have already signed up.

“Lady Bug’ service will be open for requests to all customers from 6am until 6pm, after which only ladies will be allowed to make a request,” Mr Budhabhatti said.

According to Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore apart from the free Wi-Fi, users of Little Cab will also be able to redeem their Bonga points to pay as in exchange for rides.

Little Cab now becomes the latest entrant into a flourishing taxi-hailing services that have recently sprung up in Nairobi.