Yego Innovision Ltd, an ICT solutions company based in Kigali, has introduced hailing of rides using a feature phone to improve the number of people using digital transport services in Rwanda.
Karanvir Singh, the chief executive officer of Yego Innovision says “the informal market for both motorcycle and car taxis is no longer suitable for modern life in Rwanda and across Africa” thus the need to come up with novel ideas to disrupt the traditional systems.
One of the key things Yego Innovision has done is creating a toll-free service where Rwandans can call and book a ride (motorcycle or car taxi).
With this, any type of phone can be used to book a ride unlike other ride-hailing apps which require one to own a smartphone that’s connected to the internet.
In Uganda, Dial Jack also allows people to hail rides even when they don’t own smartphones using the ‘Hail Model’.
How the Yego Innovision model works
When a Rwandan based in Kigali wants to book a ride with a Yegocab or motorcycle, they will call the company line, ‘9191’, for free using either an MTN, Tigo or Airtel SIM card.
The passenger will then tell the customer agent their location after which the agent will send a text message to the customer with details of the driver (helmet number, name, phone number, and the license plate number.)
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Alternatively, if you see a Yego driver/rider, you can also stop them and ask them to feed your details into the system.
Yego Innovision has been working with the Rwandan Government since 2016 to regulate the traditionally informal taxi market.
It is the first company in the country to receive a license to provide taxis with Intelligent Connected Fare Meters (ICFM).
The company allows both cash and digital payments.
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