2016-07-28

Given that there are now as many 12 on-demand taxi hailing mobile apps operating in Kenya, it was only a matter of time before Uber being the biggest one decided to flex its brawn and reel in the competition. According to a press release I received earlier this afternoon from Uber, they have dropped their prices by as much as 35%! This is mind boggling since Uber is already loads cheaper than using any regular taxi service in the marketplace, let alone other taxi hailing mobile apps that offer similar services.

According the new rate card from Uber for Kenya, the following is how the new pricing services look like:

Old uberX Kenya fares

KES 100 base

KES 60 per KM

KES 4.00 per minute

KES 300.00 minimum

KES 200.00 cancellation

New uberX Kenya fares

KES 100.00 base

KES 35.00 per KM

KES 3.00 per minute

KES 200.00 minimum

KES 200.00 cancellation

Looking at the numbers, it seems that the biggest price reductions come from the minimum cost which is now Kes. 200.00 down from Kes 300.00 as well as the per kilometre rate which drops a massive Kes. 25.00 from Kes. 60.00 to Kes. 35.00.00. In addition, Uber has stitched up a discounted fuel deal with Total Kenya so that Uber drivers get less expensive fuel when they pump with them. Clearly, the daggers are drawn and Uber is taking no prisoners!

Currently, Uber has a valuation that’s north of US$ 65 Billion, and keeps raising rounds in the billions of dollars. Simply put, they have the resources to ride out a price war in the marketplace. They also did over a million rides during a period of just over a year and as of this writing have done over 8 million kilometres with 1000 local taxi drivers. This is no mean feat!

Going forward, what remains to be seen is how Uber’s competitors in Kenya will respond? They have the likes of the Safaricom backed Little Cab to contend with who took over the Easy Taxi Business in Kenya, as well as others like Mondo Ride, Mara Moja, Sendy and Taxify, to mention the main ones that come to mind. My sense is that the smaller players are going to take a big hit whichever way you look at it even though on-demand taxi hailing services are still very nascent in a market like Kenya. Let the games being!

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