In Abidjan, in the West African country of Côte d'Ivoire, people mainly get around using private hire car services. Since the arrival of ride-hailing companies in 2015, these applications have taken over from the traditional taxicabs, and not without creating friction between the two. GPS and fixed prices have made these private hire car services popular -- and made users happy -- as they become a symbol of changing mobility in the city.
When leaving a restaurant, going shopping or heading to work, cabs are the way to go in Abidjan. Since 2015 and the arrival of the ride-hailing giant Uber, other companies have set up in the city to fill a gap in the transportation offer. These companies include TaxiJet, a kind of Côte d'Ivoire version of Uber, as well as Africab and Drive. But Yango remains the most popular service thanks to its ease of access.
On his way out of a nightclub, Hervé is accompanied by a group of Europeans. To get back to the hotel, he orders a Yango, one of the most popular ride-hailing services in Abidjan.
"Yango is the safest bet. You know the fixed price when you order," says Hervé, who has been living in the country's economic capital for three years. "A Yango has a GPS in the car, which allows you to avoid traffic jams," he adds.
Getting around in the city, nicknamed "Babi," is a daily ordeal because of traffic jams and congestion -- so much so that "in Abidjan, we don't talk in terms of distance, we talk in terms of time," Hervé laughs. A kilometer can be covered in two minutes or in half an hour, depending on the time of day. The World Bank even revealed that traffic jams caused the country to lose 5% of its GDP in 2017.
More and more women at the wheel
Today, the use of ride-hailing services in the economic capital is taking a completely different turn. Although, when these applications arrived, the drivers were mainly men, more and more women are taking the wheel to drive customers around the city.
Interviewed by Abidjan.net, driver Yézioho Philomène Carole explains that "there are not, on one side, jobs for men, and on the other, jobs reserved for women." She says that "there is nothing restrictive in this job. It's even easier now that our roads are mapped, so easier to use, thanks to GPS."
The growth of the ride-hailing offer has created conflicts between these private-hire drivers and on-the-meter taxis in Abidjan. In November 2021, most drivers were on strike to alert the Ivorian government to unfair competition between traditional taxicabs and ride-hailing services. Drivers of metered cabs are subject to more charges and fees than their private-hire counterparts, particularly in terms of insurance and taxes.
