Experiencing Alternative Transport Services

Over the past few months, chilling stories have emerged of taxi drivers robbing and assaulting passengers en route to their destinations.

This has prompted several people to abandon taxi services, especially at night, and resort to using alternative public transportation services – which are often more expensive.

Although the concept is not new, it has become necessary for city folk who find taxis too risky and require an alternative method of transport.

It appears that more people have invested in starting transportation businesses or developing apps through which you can request drivers, which are free to download. Using them is quite easy – all you have to do is select your location, confirm your destination and you will be informed about who is coming to get you. Even those who aren’t keen on apps can simply call the offices and book a driver.

Since we now have several Uber-like services in Namibia, some people are finding these apps to be the best thing to ever happen to them, while others are not sold on the idea due to not-so-great experiences.

Dial-A-Cab is a service that has been around since 2011 thanks to owner Aaron Kasera. Specialising in private pick-ups and drop-offs, this business is still going strong seven years down the line and is now situated along John Meinert Street across the Puma Service Station in Windhoek.

In a previous interview with The Namibian, Kasera stated that Dial-A-Cab is a 24-hour-service which “helps people who don’t want to drink and drive”.

“My friends and I once used Dial-A-Cab from Klein Windhoek past midnight, and they just charged us a normal rate until home in Katutura,” Marlene Viana Zinha said.

However, for @MR_Ndilula_, it wasn’t as efficient and neither was his experience with LEFA. “Dial-A-Cab has the worst customer service and waiting-time known to man. Tried LEFA once and the driver cancelled the trip when he was up the road. So I won’t be making use of them again. Personally, I only used to make use of City Cab until Mwiya Transfers came along. So I alternate between the two depending on how much of a rush I’m in. But City Cab is better.”

LEFA is a newer addition to the transport app family. Officially launched last year, the app has had its ups and downs, but it’s pushing through. “I prefer LEFA,” Luis Munana said. “Great experience. Friendly driver.” Unlike the other transportation services, LEFA includes drivers who are women – a feat that many have found favourable.

But it does have its challenges. “LEFA is OK. They are quick and they have a nice system that calculates your distance and stuff making the rates quite fair. The problem comes when they tell you that there are no cars available for your destination,” Twitter user @Imioly told The Weekender.

@Foxyginnah also stated that LEFA still had a couple of issues to iron out. “The app will say the driver is 10 minutes away, the driver calls asking for directions 20 minutes later because they have GPS issues, then make you pay for those minutes. City Cab is great and Dial-A-Cab is great too when they don’t make you wait long hours.”

Unfortunately @NeuvoAmukushu didn’t have a great experience with LEFA either. “LEFA failed me when I was in Katutura. The driver cancelled on his way. The second time, the app just couldn’t figure out where I was.” But for her, Dial-A-Cab came to the rescue. “Dial-A-Cab is pricey but they are always on time and have friendly drivers who make sure that I am OK. They are always willing to stop at the service station when I need something.”

And then there’s City Cab, a premier travel service which offers car rentals, tours, intercity transfers, point-to-point and airport transfers. @gwaShuuya_4th has only used City Cab. “I’ve never had a problem with them. They’re always on time and always have a driver available. I tried to use Dial-A-Cab but they just never rocked up.”

@2leepurplefairy also felt City Cab was a good option. “They’re quick to respond and always have drivers available.

The only problem is that they don’t make use of a navigation system. I once ended up waiting for almost an hour because I was directing the driver and he was lost. And the N$70 is a bit much. I also used Dial-A-Cab but that was for airport pick-ups and drop-offs. Never had an issue with them but because people close to me did, I decided to stop using their services.”

Describing City Cab as pricier than the rest, @Imioly had this to say about the company: “From my experience, City Cab was little more expensive because the rates are fixed. But they are quick. Oh, and last time I took City Cab, the driver was lost because they don’t have a navigation system.”

Here are a couple more experiences our readers have had with transportation services:

LEFA is good. The app will give you how far the driver is from your location, description of the car (colour, make, registration number and model), the driver’s name… plus the price. Tops!

City Cab is my go-to. The only issue I have now is they increased their prices to Khomasdal from N$70 to N$100. Mwiya Transfers is affordable – N$30. Only issue I have with them is after hours they’re unreliable as they never pick up (the phone).

I used LEFA to go to the airport. I downloaded the app in few minutes, registered then ordered a ride. It arrived in the indicated minutes on the app. I arrived at the airport smoothly. Loved the experience. I actually used it for the second time. To and from airport. When I landed, they had my name displayed like I was some tycoon landing to sign a diamond deal. They are awesome.

Haven’t tried the others but I’ve had my worst experiences with Dial-A-Cab for a while now. Once waited an hour for the driver to get to my location and when I called the office, the receptionist was very rude. Didn’t pay them at all. Took cab, maar.

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