I will explore alternative ways to make money driving your car in Kampala instead of Uber and why. These Uber alternatives are available in Uganda as at August 2020.
Before we dive into the best Uber alternatives in Kampala, we shall need to deal with the small details of what is Uber and how it works.
So What is Uber?
Uber is a product of Uber Technologies, Inc. The Uber brand is an on-demand transport solution that offers vehicles for hire, food delivery, package delivery, couriers, and freight transportation. The Uber product offers its services through partnerships with organisations and individual car owners who either drive or lease to other drivers to offer different transportation solutions.
How Uber works
The Uber traveller and driver apps are a platform where those who drive can connect with riders, eaters, and restaurants to offer transport and delivery solutions.
In Kampala, you can use the Uber app to request a ride. When a nearby driver accepts your request, the app displays an estimated time of arrival for the driver heading to your pickup location. In addition, the app will also display an estimate of the charge for the journey/ ride. The estimates are indicative rather than actual.
Uber charges a commission to the drivers for every connection it makes between rider and driver. As of August 2020, Uber charges up to 25% of the fee in commissions. Their shortest ride costs Shs 6,000.
What You Need to Drive with Uber
Before you join as a Uber driver, You will need the following:
- Certificate of good conduct from Interpol.
- Car Inspection certificate from 3Mw opposite UMA grounds.
- Valid Driver’s License
- Valid National ID
- A 4 door car in good condition.
Why Would One want Uber Alternatives?
There numerous reasons why you may need to get an alternative to uber but I have selected the following for your consideration.
- Uber is a side hustle, not a career. Before you sign up with Uber, know that its a side hustle rather than a mainstream job. You will hardly make enough compared to regular jobs. As such you may need to drive with several other alternatives to really make ends meet if driving is your only source of income.
- Uber charges a whole 25% in commissions. This is by far one of the highest compared to all the other alternatives. You might need an alternative that charges less.
- Uber world over is rider centred. They, without stating as such, consider the rider king. One complaint from the rider and you might be thrown out. An alternative might be your only way to earn a living.
- The milage charge for uber in Uganda is among the least. With high costs on fuel, very bad roads and high commissions, Uber drivers struggle to break even driving for just Uber.
Uber alternatives In Uganda.
If for the reasons above or other reasons you want to move from Uber, the following might give you a better alternative.
1 – Bolt formally Taxify
Bolt is probably the most serious competitor to Uber in Uganda. The App offers Boda Boda, Sedans and SUV options. The least starting journey costs 4500shs. Bolt also charges 20% commission on all rides.
What You Need to Drive with Bolt
Before you start driving with Bolt, you will need to regester and get verified. The verification process requires the following:
- Valid Driver’s permit
- Valid National ID
- Car in good condition.
- Certificate of Good conduct from Interpol.
Advantages to Driver.
Bolt has an almost equal ride request compared to Uber and other apps.
The Bolt App is fairly stable and free of order mix-ups.
Advantage to Rider
The charges are less than Uber. The franchise also offers regular discounts to its riders.
2 – Ori Rides
Ori Rides is a Uganda taxi-hailing app owned by proprietor Onyango Owor. The App is particularly loved by drivers because of its favourable base fee of 10,000.
Unlike Uber and Bolt, Ori rides allow a driver to manually pair with anyone that has a telephone number even if they do not have a smartphone. This flexibility means that any driver can initiate a ride with anyone interested in their service even if they do not have a smartphone.
Ori charges 1500shs or 15% (whichever is higher) on every ride
3 – InDrive
InDrive is an interesting alternative to Uber and Bolt. Unlike the two, InDrive gives the Driver and Rider to agree on a fair price through some kind of bidding process. When a rider initiates a request, the rider will make an offer of a fee they are willing to pay. If a driver is interested and willing to take the fee then they will accept the ride. If however, the driver can not drive for that fee then they will table their fee. If its agreeable to the rider then they will pair and the ride will take place. This app does not charge any service fee.
4 – YellowBird
5 – Spesho
This app is more of a clone of Ori-rides but works more on Uber business model. The app also charges a commission of 25% which many drivers think is a higher rate. As such the app has relatively fewer drivers because of the prohibitive commission.
One other disadvantage of this app is you will need to pay a commission at the end of every cash ride.
To their advantage, the app has a couple of corporate clients who ride cashless. Card clients are instantly credited to your account at the end of every trip but the drivers are paid every monday night.
6 – Little Rides
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Was helpful thank you…but may need to be more detailed on rates charged to be fully sufficient for any search and OTI