Even though ride-hailing is more convenient than cabs, there’s a lot that could go wrong when it comes to safety. I recently came across a story about a girl who was stabbed by a Taxify driver after she said she would pay upon arrival as she didn’t have cash on her. The father who was sharing this story went on to say that he couldn’t get hold of Taxify in order to get to the bottom of the issue. Now whether this alleged story is true or not is one thing, but I will say this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of such creepy stories about Taxify.
Just a quick Twitter search of “Taxify” will get you some interesting results concerning the ride-hailing service. Here are some of the more interesting things I came across:
https://twitter.com/disunvc/status/1092115037261570048
He said, if I will cancel the trip, I should pay the estimated fare. I told him I won't pay for no work. This led to a heated argument between the driver and I. #TaxifyProblems @Taxify_Gh
— LET'S FIGHT COVID-19 (@triciatwinkle) February 4, 2019
https://twitter.com/yung_zulu/status/1073086466711011328
I wouldn’t use it…
Now, these are all allegations and until proven otherwise some will shout, “what if it’s all a campaign to tarnish Taxify?” That could be the case but the final straw for me was when one of my friends in South Africa told me about an incident where a Taxify driver pulled a gun on her.
She told me that whilst coming from work late, the driver started acting aggressively and pulled out a gun on her and warned her that if anything suspicious happened during the trip he would use the gun. Now, this might be interesting if you’re watching a movie but if in real life this is certainly not the price you want to pay for the ride-hailing experience. I’ve never used Taxify myself and because of all the stories I’ve heard of the service, whenever I’m outside Zim I stick to Uber and traditional taxi companies.
Have you used Taxify before? What has been your experience with the ride-hailing service? That could help paint a clearer picture regarding the service
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16 comments
Gloory
I’ve used Taxify for all my commute when I was in SA for about a week (to and fro) going to work. Never had any issues at all. Used different drivers each time meaning I used roughly 14 different drivers. It’s cheaper than Uber and I loved it. Met a couple of Zim drivers as well and we were able to connect. Other’s had Zim friends so I always had a friendly chat. I was staying in Bryanston at the time. I also travelled to Durban at some point and used Taxify there. Met an awesome chap who knew the neighbourhood well and gave us (my wife and I) a number of useful insights. It’s a global service, with millions of rides a day. To say you wouldn’t use it based on hearsay and Twitter, hmmm, as a journalist I personally expect better.
When one of my closest friends tells me she got a gun pulled on her, I would rather not use it. Someone I know and trust had a life-threatening experience. I’m glad that you personally enjoyed your experience using the service but I won’t use it. If I’m with a group of people then yes I may use it, but as long as I’m alone, it’s a no from me. Also, I’m not a journalist, I’m a blogger, so maybe re-orient your expectations with that in mind.
Farai, I just want to add that while Taxify is horrible, it’s still far much better than traditional taxi companies. I would never get into a taxi in Jozi.
If by taxis you mean combi’s I 1000% agree with you. I would not for the life of me get into one of those 😂 but the normal taxis that I used where pretty ok. Did you have a horror experience in one of those?
Thanks for making the journalist part clear. I’ll steer away from your articles in future, not because you are a blogger but because that line reads, ‘I’ll be as opinionated as I want without much regard for a little bit of investigating because I’m not a journalist’.
Not to undermine the trauma that your friend went through. South Africa is a violent country. It sounds to me like the driver was preempting any attack on him as opposed to attacking your friend. Perhaps you could do a search and see how many Taxify drivers have been robbed and it might explain the driver’s actions. It does not excuse them. The headline and the contents of your article do not match. The picture of the slipper which is made of durable foam rubber holding the battery in place is a none story. Car batteries often get replaced for different reasons (stolen, broken). If anything the person taking the picture is displaying their privilege with respect to cars. I presume they are the call roadside assist type of people, You would be surprised at how many people in SA cannot change a wheel.
Overally, Taxify is terrible, we can’t dispute that. Maybe it’s because I live in Jozi. I think it also depends on the driver. I know people who have left their items in a Taxify, never to see them again. I agree, Taxify can be cheaper than Uber at times.
I’ve heard it’s cheaper, but I’m not entirely sure if that makes it a better option if it comes with a higher risk
I have used both Taxify and Uber for the past few years. I have stopped using Taxify though. I have had a few issues with Uber, but I have had way to many issues with Taxify. I have been in a smelly Taxify and I have had a Taxify driver deliberatly take a longer route. I have had a Taxify driver not end a trip. I will list below some major issues with Taxify.
1. Support: Taxify support is terrible, if you log a support ticket, it takes up to a week to get a response. Uber support response is almost instant.
2. Driver Screening: Most Taxify drivers are Uber rejects. They ae less vigorous on screening.
3. Driver Training: Taxify clearly does not train its drivers as well as Uber does.
4. Driver Support: Taxify does not support its drivers as much as Uber does. If I throw up in a Taxify, the driver does not get anything from Taxify, Uber on the other hand will compensate the driver for the cost of cleaning the car.
5. Driver Accountability: Taxify does not hold its drivers accountable. If you forget an item in a Taxify, it’s known you are never seeing it again. Uber on the other hand holds the driver accountable and may remove the driver from the platform.
6. Vehicle Requirements: Vehicle requirements are less leniant at Taxify. There are a bunch of crappy cars.
However, I want to say that because Taxify runs a lot of promotions, it’s usually cheaper than Uber.
“Whether this alleged story is true or not”, is actually very important. You can’t premise an article on hearsay, without any regards for the truth, regardless of whether one is a blogger, or bonafide journalist.
Yes, your friend had a gun pulled on her and that is very unfortunate. But, Taxify isn’t the only service with incidents that happen. Have you taken time to Google incidents with Uber drivers in SA? There are documented incidents of rape, robbery, kidnapping and even murder. Incidents which you have opted to not include in your article.
In fact, to evaluate if Taxify is the least safe service, you must actually perform a comparison with other services. Of which, there is no attempt to do so at any point of the article.
Hey, feel extremely free to use Taxify whenever you’re in South Africa. This piece was just an observation I’ve made without having to go out of my way and Google incidents surrounding Taxify, as you suggest I do with Uber. As I said in the article, I didn’t put much thought to the rumours until one of my closest friends detailed an experience she had with the service. If you feel comfortable getting a Taxify, go on. Personally, I don’t.
You posed a question about Taxify safety, and I don’t feel you put a fair effort in coming up with the answer. Several articles on Techzim have titles posing questions, but either offer no answers, or give a one-sided view.
I’m not rallying for Taxify. I’m rallying for balanced articles.
Why didn’t she report having a gun pulled out on her to the police? The police would then simply asked for driver/car owner details from Taxify. Even without asking for information from Taxify, the police could still have easily tracked vehicle ownership.
Uber is the one that has been targeted A LOT MORE by violent meter taxi operators. So much so that it’s near impossible to get an Uber in Joburg CBD – so consider THAT when evaluating which one is “safer”. Taxify has poorer standards and worse service yes but violent incidents have been way more extreme with Uber and have even made GLOBAL NEWS. Taxify drivers are better at dodging those incident partly because their operational restrictions are slightly more relaxed than Uber – the drivers have devised various tactics to stay out of trouble. Meter taxis in SA are just TERRIBLE – rude, bad tempered aggressive drivers who will always try to stretch your route and are often mildly xenophobic too the minute they realise you are a foreigner. Plus their knowledge of places is not always up to scratch but they don’t use technology like the ride hailing guys do: so they can get you lost, get angry AT YOU for it and then overcharge you still. Meter taxis are a non starter.
Perhaps a more accurate title would have been, “Is Taxify safe?” The moment you said used the word least implied that you are comparing it with another app which you didn’t do in your “blog”.