Not everybody has the luxury of driving around in their own cars here in Lagos. More often than not, people have to resort to public transport services to get to from point A to point B. However, most of us have probably had bitter experiences with public transport before.
If you are a Lagosian you’d probably relate to this, you may struggle to make the best use of public transport. Not to mention that’s buses don’t work at night and so you’d have to cover a fair bit of distance on foot if public transport is your only option. This can be very dangerous as it leaves you expose to the wiles of the nights. They are never friendly.
These car-hailing apps have given people the option of traveling in a more flexible and comfortable manner. As long as you have a cell phone with internet connection, you will have no problem in securing a ride from a Lounge in Lekki to your house in Surulere.
The following are some of the top cab-hailing apps that have been very well received by both locals and international travelers alike:
It comes as no surprise that we begin our list with Uber. In simple words, Uber is the standard bearer in the cab-hailing app industry. The most popular transport app in the world has established its presence in 107 countries and is looking forward to further expanding its booming business. Uber launched in Lagos back in 2014 with usage growing despite fuel shortages and an economic slump.
16 months after its launch in Lagos, the company had provided 30% more rides than it did in London in its first 16 months!
The Uber app has made it easy for users to know exactly what they will be paying for the trip even before they get in the car. Furthermore, you could use your phone to track the GPS route that the driver is taking to make sure that you are getting to your destination as quickly as possible. Going back home to Iyana Ipaja after a night at Quilox has never been easier and more comfortable. It is available in Lagos, Abuja and plans to launch soon in Port Harcourt.
Ogataxi is the first indigenious e-cab hailing service in Nigeria. They pride themselves as the ‘1st SOCIAL Ride Pooling’ taxi service. They also claim to be 20% cheaper than their competitors. Launched in 2015 the app on your phone will come in very handy if you need to get around clubs and events at night. They are also available in Abuja.
However I must warn you that reviews on that play store are not very flattering so I advise that you only get this app as a backup plan if the others don’t work. The app doesn’t seem to be available on IOS so this app might just work for the android users who love to crawl at night.
Smartcabs launched in April 2017. The service allows riders choose their preferred ride and drivers, right from the app. This is cool if you see a preferred car brand that you’d like.
The cab hailing service also offers free WIFI service in their cars. This is quite perfect for riders who want to get on snapchat and make instagram stories as they snooze from one lounge to the next.
This is Uber’s biggest competitor in Lagos at the moment. They bulldozed their way into the market by crashing the price and lowering the required year of manufacture for their cars.
Easy Taxi has won a number of awards for being one of the safest and most reliable taxi-hailing services internationally but they have struggled to overcome bad customer service perception in Nigeria. Their drivers have been described as rude and insensitive.
Ryno has some qualities that night crawlers like me will totally love. You can book their cars whether you have data on your phone or not. This totally make sense considering how horrible signal providers can get in Nigeria. They also do not charge you for cancellations. This is totally great if you get caught up in the music and unable to exit the dance floor. The pricing is also very friendy.
