Barely months after Opay launched its bus hailing service, another startup, Mizi, has increased the stakes by introducing a brand new bus charter service in Lagos, Nigeria.
Riding the waves of Nigeria’s Independence day celebrations, Mizi launched its own bus charter. And they are offering Lagosians free rides for the first five trips.
Mizibus, as it is called, is now in operations in Lagos and carries people to any bus stop within the Oworonshoki-Ikate axis. To get a ride, people have to first select their destination from the Mizi app which is only available on android for now.
After the destination has been selected, the passenger chooses a preferred bus route. This selection can be based on distance, charge or any number of variables that affect the passenger’s choice.
After the ride details have been taken care of, the passenger can then go ahead and book the ride. An e-ticket is sent to the passenger which will be scanned before entry when the bus arrives. The rider also gets notified when the Mizibus is within reasonable distance.
Mizibus says the reason it chose to get into the market is to carter to the interest and welfare of the average Lagosian. The popular yellow buses, danfos, can get riders to their destinations, but the process is often very uncomfortable and leaves the passenger stressed out by the end of the trip.
Changing the way most Lagosians commute is the rationale behind the launch of the Mizibus.
In a chat with company reps, they stated that Mizibus is not recruiting third-party drivers for its buses at the moment. This perhaps points to a desire to ensure quality control. Thus, making sure the appointed drivers deliver a ride experience that mirrors Mizi’s promise to Lagosians.
However this might just be a temporary measure as they consolidate their presence in the market. The company indicates that it may call for third-party riders in future. Still, it is to be expected that measures will be put in place to guarantee that the standards remain the same or get better.
That said, beyond the rides, the routes, the freebies and the value, Lagosians are yet to see how Mizi plans to deal with the ticking timebomb that is Lagos agberos, unofficial and notorious transport regulators.
Considering that the agberos have established that ride-hailing startups are not immune to or exempted from their ticketing and ‘garage fees’, it is fair to hope that Mizi has a plan in place for when they come calling.
Perhaps, it will get a police officer to ride in every Mizibus like Obus currently does. Perhaps it has a better plan?
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