Pata Cab brings smart cab-hailing to Nairobi, prevents excess fares

Hailing a cab can be tricky business. In a large city like New York, this is because the demand is so high for rides, in a place like Africa, there is the extra worry of being conned by taxi drivers — at least that’s the concern for Nairobi-based startup, Pata Cab, which aims to streamline the cab-hailing process in the Kenyan capital with its new platform.

“Pata” is Swahili for “find” or “get,” and the platform was founded by Anthony Wainaina Kariuki, assisted by German consultant Jochen Baumeister.

In essence, Pata Cab is an automation platform for cab-hailing with perks for both drivers and passengers. On the driver side, operators will theoretically get more business because they will be listed on a platform accessible to a large online audience. For the passenger, Pata Cab will put you in touch with the closest driver to your location, and also give you details on fare prices around Nairobi, so you can avoid paying excess fares.

Kariuki told TechMoran:

“The story of Pata Cab was thought of when one of our partners who had recently landed in Nairobi was conned by a cab driver. The amount he had paid for the distance he traveled was more than double what normal prices for the same distance would be.”

The platform is currently in beta, but has high hopes of securing the market before global players such as Uber enter the country. Similarly to Uber, Pata Cab lists privately owned cab drivers on its platform to give them access to more clients.

The platform currently gives contact information for drivers in popular areas in Nairobi while development continues on the online booking system.

Image by Martin Abegglen via Flickr.