In the wake of a huge Series B Funding of $120 million, Nigeria-based Opay has launched yet another showstopper in the transportation industry it’s calling Ocar.
The new service is available in Lagos, Owerri, Ibadan, Port Harcout, Abuja, Benin, Abeokuta and Kaduna.
If you’re familiar with Nigerian trends, you would probably say “that’s how star do!”
While there is a lot of buzz around this new addition, we reviewed the Ocar service and here’s what we found.
To make use of Ocar, I downloaded the Opay app and registered with my details on my phone as the app prompted, I also had to go through the privacy document and I clicked agree.
Following that, the services interface opened up and I was treated to the world of what I call ‘Oservices’.
Ocar has the beta tag on it because it is still relatively new, since it was what I wanted, I clicked on it. From there, the next interface guided me in selecting where I wanted the Ocar driver to pick me up.
To make this process as seamless as possible, it is better to either have your location turned on or allow Opay to access your location if a popup prompts for that. I proceeded to select my destination from the map.
It is quite interesting to note that Opay shows you the estimated price for your journey as well as the corresponding price on Otrike and Oride, so you can pick what works best for you.
After clicking the ‘Request A Ride’ option, the Opay app began the process of looking for Ocars around and setting me up with one. This process was quite an exciting one as driver after driver kept picking the order then cancelling it until quite frankly, I thought of bolting.
However, being the first day, Opay may not have been able to sign up as many drivers yet, hopefully there will be a sizeable amount left that are not with Bolt or Uber. In this game though, poaching is allowed.
Following Opay’s operations, drivers will call and pick people on ordered rides while users will pay for the rides through money in their Owallet which can be funded from the user’s bank account.
A look at the newly-drawn Bolt-Ocar-Uber ride triangle
Since Opay scaled up its services to deliver classy rides to people, it is inevitable that the Chinese-backed operator will want a share of the people who currently ride with Bolt or Uber.
Since its launch, Opay has been an avid believer in the power of discounts. From slashing prices drastically, the startup has been able to attract customers to its pioneer service; Oride.
From Oride to Obus to Otrike, Opay has employed the same tactic to attract patronage. Bolt and Uber have done the same at varying times but none has been as heavily discounted as Opay’s slashed prices.
Despite the discounts however, people have been quick to react to Opay’s attempts at increasing certain fees.
Perhaps the consistency that people associate with Bolt and Uber will be a heavy weight in their favor, perhaps paying N200 for rides less than N2000 will make Ocar the transportation choice, perhaps not.
Time, value and consumer behavior will tell.
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