Re: [Skunkworks] Uber Experience
What if a service that is app (Android, iOS, Windows Mobile etc), USSD and text based is to be made. Fueled by direct depositing via both Mobile Money services and Visa/MasterCard. Copy what Safaricom had done correcting the very obvious mistakes and fueling innovation (For example offer a sturdy platform independent API for developers) and openness to consumers. Wouldn't the world be a better place instead of waiting on Safaricom who clearly aren't in a hurry to innovate.
http://skift.com/2014/11/15/how-uber-overcame-indias-credit-card-rules-to-bu... For the Indian commuter, Uber has been the coolest ride on the block. The cab-booking service's convenient, cashless payment system made it a hot favorite in India--it brought freedom from hailing a cab, haggling over the fare, or dealing with notorious taxi drivers who won't give change or comply with the prescribed meter fare. No wonder then that within a year of its launch, India became Uber's largest market outside the US <http://qz.com/251667/the-war-between-uber-and-indias-taxi-operators-is-hotting-up/>. A big part of the appeal was that paying for an Uber ride was completely frictionless: riders could walk away from their Uber car and their credit cards would be automatically billed for the fare. But now things are about to change. Due to a long-running dispute with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about Uber's use of customers' stored credit card details--which was triggered by complaints from India's old-school taxi operators--Uber has been forced to set up a new system with local payments firm Paytm <http://firstbiz.firstpost.com/corporate/one-step-payment-days-over-now-use-uber-by-topping-up-virtual-wallet-paytm-108093.html>that allows users to load cash onto a virtual wallet that can then be used to make transactions. ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya "There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson
Just used the uber service in Nairobi and was impressed! I think my local cab guy just lost a valuable customer ./Ok3ch On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 6:45 PM, Mwendwa Kivuva via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
http://skift.com/2014/11/15/how-uber-overcame-indias-credit-card-rules-to-bu...
For the Indian commuter, Uber has been the coolest ride on the block. The cab-booking service’s convenient, cashless payment system made it a hot favorite in India—it brought freedom from hailing a cab, haggling over the fare, or dealing with notorious taxi drivers who won’t give change or comply with the prescribed meter fare.
No wonder then that within a year of its launch, India became Uber’s largest market outside the US <http://qz.com/251667/the-war-between-uber-and-indias-taxi-operators-is-hotting-up/>. A big part of the appeal was that paying for an Uber ride was completely frictionless: riders could walk away from their Uber car and their credit cards would be automatically billed for the fare. But now things are about to change. Due to a long-running dispute with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about Uber’s use of customers’ stored credit card details—which was triggered by complaints from India’s old-school taxi operators—Uber has been forced to set up a new system with local payments firm Paytm <http://firstbiz.firstpost.com/corporate/one-step-payment-days-over-now-use-uber-by-topping-up-virtual-wallet-paytm-108093.html>that allows users to load cash onto a virtual wallet that can then be used to make transactions.
______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
"There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson
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Used it over the Nairobi restaurant week. A guy came all the way from Westlands to Bellevue and he was still cheaper than the cabs around there. On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 2:09 PM, Okechukwu via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Just used the uber service in Nairobi and was impressed! I think my local cab guy just lost a valuable customer
./Ok3ch
On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 6:45 PM, Mwendwa Kivuva via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
http://skift.com/2014/11/15/how-uber-overcame-indias-credit-card-rules-to-bu...
For the Indian commuter, Uber has been the coolest ride on the block. The cab-booking service’s convenient, cashless payment system made it a hot favorite in India—it brought freedom from hailing a cab, haggling over the fare, or dealing with notorious taxi drivers who won’t give change or comply with the prescribed meter fare.
No wonder then that within a year of its launch, India became Uber’s largest market outside the US <http://qz.com/251667/the-war-between-uber-and-indias-taxi-operators-is-hotting-up/>. A big part of the appeal was that paying for an Uber ride was completely frictionless: riders could walk away from their Uber car and their credit cards would be automatically billed for the fare. But now things are about to change. Due to a long-running dispute with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about Uber’s use of customers’ stored credit card details—which was triggered by complaints from India’s old-school taxi operators—Uber has been forced to set up a new system with local payments firm Paytm <http://firstbiz.firstpost.com/corporate/one-step-payment-days-over-now-use-uber-by-topping-up-virtual-wallet-paytm-108093.html>that allows users to load cash onto a virtual wallet that can then be used to make transactions.
______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
"There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson
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-- Regards, Mark Mwangi markmwangi.me.ke
Perhaps, Uber is loss making to prop up usage to a point where the model works? On Thu Feb 05 2015 at 14:36:26 Mark Mwangi via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Used it over the Nairobi restaurant week. A guy came all the way from Westlands to Bellevue and he was still cheaper than the cabs around there.
On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 2:09 PM, Okechukwu via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Just used the uber service in Nairobi and was impressed! I think my local cab guy just lost a valuable customer
./Ok3ch
On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 6:45 PM, Mwendwa Kivuva via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
http://skift.com/2014/11/15/how-uber-overcame-indias-credit-card-rules-to-bu...
For the Indian commuter, Uber has been the coolest ride on the block. The cab-booking service's convenient, cashless payment system made it a hot favorite in India--it brought freedom from hailing a cab, haggling over the fare, or dealing with notorious taxi drivers who won't give change or comply with the prescribed meter fare.
No wonder then that within a year of its launch, India became Uber's largest market outside the US <http://qz.com/251667/the-war-between-uber-and-indias-taxi-operators-is-hotting-up/>. A big part of the appeal was that paying for an Uber ride was completely frictionless: riders could walk away from their Uber car and their credit cards would be automatically billed for the fare. But now things are about to change. Due to a long-running dispute with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about Uber's use of customers' stored credit card details--which was triggered by complaints from India's old-school taxi operators--Uber has been forced to set up a new system with local payments firm Paytm <http://firstbiz.firstpost.com/corporate/one-step-payment-days-over-now-use-uber-by-topping-up-virtual-wallet-paytm-108093.html>that allows users to load cash onto a virtual wallet that can then be used to make transactions.
______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
"There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson
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-- Regards,
Mark Mwangi
markmwangi.me.ke
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It's more efficient. The taxi business in Kenya has always been high margin. On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 2:47 PM, Dennis Kioko via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Perhaps, Uber is loss making to prop up usage to a point where the model works?
On Thu Feb 05 2015 at 14:36:26 Mark Mwangi via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Used it over the Nairobi restaurant week. A guy came all the way from Westlands to Bellevue and he was still cheaper than the cabs around there.
On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 2:09 PM, Okechukwu via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Just used the uber service in Nairobi and was impressed! I think my local cab guy just lost a valuable customer
./Ok3ch
On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 6:45 PM, Mwendwa Kivuva via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
http://skift.com/2014/11/15/how-uber-overcame-indias-credit-card-rules-to-bu...
For the Indian commuter, Uber has been the coolest ride on the block. The cab-booking service’s convenient, cashless payment system made it a hot favorite in India—it brought freedom from hailing a cab, haggling over the fare, or dealing with notorious taxi drivers who won’t give change or comply with the prescribed meter fare.
No wonder then that within a year of its launch, India became Uber’s largest market outside the US <http://qz.com/251667/the-war-between-uber-and-indias-taxi-operators-is-hotting-up/>. A big part of the appeal was that paying for an Uber ride was completely frictionless: riders could walk away from their Uber car and their credit cards would be automatically billed for the fare. But now things are about to change. Due to a long-running dispute with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about Uber’s use of customers’ stored credit card details—which was triggered by complaints from India’s old-school taxi operators—Uber has been forced to set up a new system with local payments firm Paytm <http://firstbiz.firstpost.com/corporate/one-step-payment-days-over-now-use-uber-by-topping-up-virtual-wallet-paytm-108093.html>that allows users to load cash onto a virtual wallet that can then be used to make transactions.
______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
"There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson
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-- Regards,
Mark Mwangi
markmwangi.me.ke
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Same to the matatu one. Explains why we have a glut of both. On Thu Feb 05 2015 at 15:48:52 Phares <phares.kariuki@gmail.com> wrote:
It's more efficient. The taxi business in Kenya has always been high margin.
On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 2:47 PM, Dennis Kioko via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Perhaps, Uber is loss making to prop up usage to a point where the model works?
On Thu Feb 05 2015 at 14:36:26 Mark Mwangi via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Used it over the Nairobi restaurant week. A guy came all the way from Westlands to Bellevue and he was still cheaper than the cabs around there.
On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 2:09 PM, Okechukwu via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Just used the uber service in Nairobi and was impressed! I think my local cab guy just lost a valuable customer
./Ok3ch
On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 6:45 PM, Mwendwa Kivuva via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
http://skift.com/2014/11/15/how-uber-overcame-indias-credit-card-rules-to-bu...
For the Indian commuter, Uber has been the coolest ride on the block. The cab-booking service's convenient, cashless payment system made it a hot favorite in India--it brought freedom from hailing a cab, haggling over the fare, or dealing with notorious taxi drivers who won't give change or comply with the prescribed meter fare.
No wonder then that within a year of its launch, India became Uber's largest market outside the US <http://qz.com/251667/the-war-between-uber-and-indias-taxi-operators-is-hotting-up/>. A big part of the appeal was that paying for an Uber ride was completely frictionless: riders could walk away from their Uber car and their credit cards would be automatically billed for the fare. But now things are about to change. Due to a long-running dispute with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about Uber's use of customers' stored credit card details--which was triggered by complaints from India's old-school taxi operators--Uber has been forced to set up a new system with local payments firm Paytm <http://firstbiz.firstpost.com/corporate/one-step-payment-days-over-now-use-uber-by-topping-up-virtual-wallet-paytm-108093.html>that allows users to load cash onto a virtual wallet that can then be used to make transactions.
______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
"There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson
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Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke
-- Regards,
Mark Mwangi
markmwangi.me.ke
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Used Uber on a recent trip to Johannesburg, and it is a fantastic service. It became my default way of moving around. The uber drivers also love it. At jkia, there was no uber driver available, which is a real shame given the high traffic nature of cab traffic at Jkia. Only dissatisfaction with it is the way it blanks out the screen whenever internet goes (e.g. I got out of WiFi range), and hence cannot see driver details, or even call the driver, which leaves one in the dark and possibility of cancellation fees. As the driver uptake increases in Nairobi, am sure it will become very popular, and will mature. On 5 Feb 2015 15:52, "Dennis Kioko via skunkworks" < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Same to the matatu one. Explains why we have a glut of both.
On Thu Feb 05 2015 at 15:48:52 Phares <phares.kariuki@gmail.com> wrote:
It's more efficient. The taxi business in Kenya has always been high margin.
On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 2:47 PM, Dennis Kioko via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Perhaps, Uber is loss making to prop up usage to a point where the model works?
On Thu Feb 05 2015 at 14:36:26 Mark Mwangi via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Used it over the Nairobi restaurant week. A guy came all the way from Westlands to Bellevue and he was still cheaper than the cabs around there.
On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 2:09 PM, Okechukwu via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
Just used the uber service in Nairobi and was impressed! I think my local cab guy just lost a valuable customer
./Ok3ch
On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 6:45 PM, Mwendwa Kivuva via skunkworks < skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
http://skift.com/2014/11/15/how-uber-overcame-indias-credit-card-rules-to-bu...
For the Indian commuter, Uber has been the coolest ride on the block. The cab-booking service’s convenient, cashless payment system made it a hot favorite in India—it brought freedom from hailing a cab, haggling over the fare, or dealing with notorious taxi drivers who won’t give change or comply with the prescribed meter fare.
No wonder then that within a year of its launch, India became Uber’s largest market outside the US <http://qz.com/251667/the-war-between-uber-and-indias-taxi-operators-is-hotting-up/>. A big part of the appeal was that paying for an Uber ride was completely frictionless: riders could walk away from their Uber car and their credit cards would be automatically billed for the fare. But now things are about to change. Due to a long-running dispute with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about Uber’s use of customers’ stored credit card details—which was triggered by complaints from India’s old-school taxi operators—Uber has been forced to set up a new system with local payments firm Paytm <http://firstbiz.firstpost.com/corporate/one-step-payment-days-over-now-use-uber-by-topping-up-virtual-wallet-paytm-108093.html>that allows users to load cash onto a virtual wallet that can then be used to make transactions.
______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
"There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson
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-- Regards,
Mark Mwangi
markmwangi.me.ke
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participants (7)
-
Dennis Kioko -
Fernandes Thuita -
Mark Mwangi -
Mwendwa Kivuva -
Njoroge Tito -
Okechukwu -
Phares