Taxify says it will expand to more local cities. This follows its launch in its fourth SA city, Port Elizabeth.
The international e-hailing transport service, launched locally in April last year and is considered Uber’s biggest competitor. It has created employment opportunities for tens of thousands of drivers in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and PE.
The company operates in over 20 countries across Europe, Central America and Africa, recently launching in Nairobi and Kenya.
Linda Mahloko, operations manager at Taxify SA, told ITWeb: “Taxify takes only 15% commission from its drivers, which is up to half the commission taken by other ride-sharing platforms. The lower commission allows Taxify to offer lower prices for riders and more take-home pay for drivers. The service also allows drivers to create a defined radius for pick-ups, meaning they don’t need to stray too far from home.”
Over 18 months into its launch in the local competitive market, Mahloko says Taxify faces a fair share of challenges and it has approached government for possible resolutions.
“Our biggest challenge is transforming the transport industry into a new way of affordable, secure, safe and convenient transport. Hence, we see challenges from traditional operators that are against this new business model. We are engaging with government to create a specific law for the ride-sharing industry; however, we have not gained as much traction from government as we would have hoped.”
Domestic Air Travel Shows Slight Recovery
South Africa’s domestic air travel sector recovered somewhat after a decline in the second quarter, with arrivals up by 4.6% and departures rising by 4.9%.
This is according to the latest Aviation Barometer published by Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) to provide an indication of current air travel trends in the country. The barometer is based on the number of passengers using the network of nine airports owned and managed by the company in South Africa.
It compares arrivals and departures in the latest quarter with the same quarter in the previous year.
ACSA’s nine airports handled more than 2.5 million arriving and departing passengers in the third quarter, a 5% increase on the comparable period in 2016.
The strongest performers were King Shaka International Airport and Cape Town International Airport, with increases of 7.9% and 6.6% respectively.
The passenger figures for King Shaka International Airport were underpinned by an 8.7% rise in domestic arrivals and an 8.3% increase in departures, more than offsetting a decline of 3% in international passengers.
Cape Town International continued to enjoy strong growth in international arrivals, up by 20.4%, and international departures, up by 22.5%. (via Fin24)
Deloitte Africa Starts Construction On New Continental Headquarters In Joburg
Audit firm Deloitte Africa on Monday celebrated the start of construction on its iconic new Africa headquarters, with a sod-turning ceremony onsite at Waterfall City, Midrand.
Deloitte was joined by South African property investment company Atterbury Property, and JSE‐listed premier property company Attacq Limited.
Atterbury and Attacq are co‐owners in a 50/50 joint venture on the development of the new Deloitte premises. While bulk earthworks for the project began in October this year, this sod‐turning ceremony signified the official commencement of development.
The 42,500m2 ultra‐modern offices are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020, and Deloitte plans to begin operating from its new base from April 2020. The new premises will consolidate Deloitte’s current Woodmead and Pretoria offices into a single central location at Waterfall.
Atterbury chief executive, Louis van der Watt, said he believed that their deep understanding of Deloitte’s operational business needs will ensure the project’s success in the years ahead.
“This development will not only provide Deloitte with room to grow as a business, but also be an asset that supports them in attracting new talent and continuing to serve their expanding market,” van der Watt said.
Mike Jarvis, chief operating officer at Deloitte Africa, said they were excited about their new custom-designed headquarters for Deloitte Africa in what is clearly a sought-after corporate destination.
“This new centre of operation gears our Africa Firm to attract the best talent, serve our expanding market, and consolidate approximately 3700 of our people to make an even greater impact with our clients and communities,” Jarvis said.
The building, which will enjoy prime positioning alongside the Allandale interchange of the N1 highway, has space capacity for close to 5,000 people and promises Deloitte prominent highway frontage at the eastern side of Waterfall City as well as its clients and talent easy and quick access to its premises. (via African News Agency)
SA’s Airlink To Seek Regulatory Approval To Merge With Low-cost Airline Safair
Airlink and Safair, two independent South African aviation groups, have said that they will on Tuesday apply to the Competition Commission for approval to unite under the common umbrella of the Airlink group of companies.
The proposal sees the Airlink and low-cost FlySafair airlines and Safair’s other businesses, including humanitarian aid flights, continuing to operate separately under their unique brands.
In a joint statement, the airlines said they will retain their respective products, aircraft fleets, management and leadership teams, and employees secured with no job losses because of the consolidation.
Airlink chief executive and managing director, Rodger Foster, said Airlink’s acquisition of Safair, which is financially robust and profitable, made good business sense.
“It presents opportunities to reduce our combined costs, position ourselves for growth, while at the same time increasing connectivity and choice while making air travel accessible and affordable for our customers across Southern Africa,” Foster said.
“Our combined networks will enable us to connect 37 destinations in nine Southern African and Indian Ocean countries and St. Helena. This will stimulate and enable trade, tourism, economic growth and social development in those markets we serve.”
In addition, the proposed new ownership structure will see Airlink continue to meet – and in future exceed – South Africa’s Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment targets.
The companies said the Safair purchase will not affect Airlink’s existing SAA franchise partnership, which continues to deliver traffic and business to SAA and Airlink, while their customers benefit from the value, convenience and connectivity the arrangement provides.
Elmar Conradie, who will remain as Safair chief executive, said: “Coming under a single umbrella will create economies of scale that will enable both airlines to share costs, optimize assets and remove systems duplication. This will position the new Airlink Group for future growth,” Conradie said.
If the deal goes through, Safair shareholder ASL Aviation Holdings will become a minority shareholder of the Airlink Group of companies. ASL Aviation Holdings is a global aviation group with six European and two Asian airlines in addition to its South African interests.
The companies said more details will be provided when the Competition Commission has made its determination, which is anticipated will be during the first quarter of 2018. (via African News Agency)
