Kenyans Not Impressed By New ‘Drive Me’ Category On Little Cab App
Safaricom backed taxi-hailing app Little cab is eyeing the festive season in a new launch of the chauffer category, ‘Drive me’. The new service in town is meant to allow car owners to hail a driver to drive them to a destination of their choice, at a fee.
The launch has been advised by tradition and past events during the festive season where revelers indulge in day drinking and overnight parties. Going by the statistics, NTSA has pegged most deaths on drunk driving and recklessness on the roads. Although this is a great opportunity for Little Cab, Kenyans are skeptical about the service. Taking to social media, a good number of cab users have expressed how they feel about letting someone else drive them home whether drunk or fatigued.
Vetting being one of the issues in the past even before the ‘drive me’ option has come up and Kenyans say they are not ready to trust the system. Rape cases, sexual assault, robbery, hijacking are crimes connected with taxi-hailing companies internationally and now with the new category, some Kenyans are speculating car theft as one of the problems that might come with the new service.
The hustle and bustle in the city not only makes driving tiresome but it can drive you nuts when you have to connect different roads and highways and at the same time prepare for your next meeting.
The thought of calling up a driver to take you to a place of your choice as you put yourself together in the back seat is luring, however, security and safety of your car might not be guaranteed.
Safety
Not so long ago, a Kenyan lady reported having been assaulted and harassed to a point near-rape. She claimed that the driver had unapologetically smoked bhang and cigarettes in the vehicle and was nothing close to sober. You see, once you hail a driver, it is hard to actually tell if they are sober or not, Kenyans sure don’t walk around with alcohol breathalyzers or any gadgets to determine soberness, therefore, putting themselves and their property in danger.
Even though taxi-hailing companies claim to take drivers through intense vetting and screening, attack cases have still found their way in these very cabs. Women on social media platforms have also insisted that the category might end up suiting men only for fear that they will be disadvantaged and will be vulnerable to attacks in their cars more than their male counterparts.
On the flip side, the drivers here are not guaranteed of their safety since car owners are also capable of attacking them. Not to say that ill intensions should come in the way of development but little cab stakeholders and owners should upgrade their security for both the passenger and driver before launching a barrage of services under the application.
