RideHytch: Classy, Bougie…Safe, Affordable.

I have had an earworm for a long time with the lines of the song ringing constantly; classy, bougie, ratchet. The crazy thing is that I have actually never listened to Meghan in my life and I am still shocked as to how I got that earworm but that’s not the gist for today. Recently something else has been ringing in my mind and it also sounds classy and bougie and even more it’s going to be safe and affordable, mostly because it is based on the peer-to-peer model which drives and builds trust.

What is RideHytch?

RideHytch is a product that enables people to book and offer rides at very affordable rates. The product is going to position itself as more affordable to what currently exists and it will most likely curb the exploitative nature of the current solutions.

The State of Ridesharing:

In the past few years, Nigeria has seen the rise of ridesharing and we can say that the market to a very good extent has been educated and is ready for new entrants vertically and horizontally across its many applications. The challenge here is that a lot of local solutions have not been able to rival the global players like Uber and Bolt in this space rather we have seen local companies progressing in okada hailing and delivery business. As much as we have been served well by current players we need to actually look at the problems that have been neglected by current solutions in Nigeria and some of them are:

1. Price: If you live in Lagos, you will know the price is usually exploitative and sometimes want to beg the driver for a lesser fee and even for the drivers the prices may seem too low and they would want to negotiate for something high. It would be best if the negotiation price is regarded as the market price. The caveat here is to make the process easy and quick so that both parties do not spend time negotiating rather there should be a range and both parties pick the price they are good with.
2. Security: Riders have been handed over to the police and been in different situations where they have been assaulted, the complaints are all over Twitter with drivers being paraded as suspects of such atrocities. One particular company’s response to this at the time was more discounts and more adverts. A game-changer would be one that alerts a person’s location and trip to close contacts and keeps track of their location.
3. Business Management: I have conversations with several drivers in different ride-sharing platforms and I have found that in the last year at least 50% do not own the cars, they simply hire and pay a fixed amount monthly or weekly to the original owner.A particular driver actually said that the owner of the vehicle he was using had up to 30 across the country dedicated to ride-sharing. This presents a market opportunity for RideHytch as the product can target and serve those who want to offer their cars up to drivers who would be available.
4. Carpooling: Although the pandemic limited this particular part of ride-sharing, it is still something that can make a lot of waves especially when it is integrated into people’s social lives. People talk about planning trips in their cities and even outside their cities. It would be great to have a product that could do just that for tourists, helping people who have had prior connections carpool and share the cost of a trip to their destination. Hytch can be this product helping the early 9–5 workers carpool and help guys looking to hit the beach or a concert actually hit the road.
5. Potential Verticals: Hytch has several industries to explore and some of them include: Emergency Response for healthcare, services for stranded persons, car hiring services, interstate tours, ambulance services for funerals, service and goods delivery, etc. The strategy here would be to serve several customers across multiple sub-industries that are ready for the taking as they have been ripened via market education and exposure.

The transport sector in Nigeria is nothing close to perfect which makes it full of opportunities and always ready for new solutions or even new approaches.

My Advice:

1. RideHytch offers fleet management for people who want to give out their cars for ride-sharing. Hytch manages the drivers, reimburses car owners and ensures vehicles are safe.
2. RideHytch creates a community of drivers to ensure they keep to safety guidelines and to flush out any bad sheep.
3. RideHytch partners products like Afriktrip to foster ride-sharing in tourist areas.
4. RideHytch expands to interstate travel and good delivery(Food, Low weight items) with cars.
5. RideHytch would connect stranded persons with rides after the interstate expansion is broad enough.

Conclusion :

RideHytch excites me because the market is ripe and there is so much potential in the verticals that peer-to-peer ride-sharing could open up. Although a lot of these are theoretical and ultimately depend on the product vision and the team’s execution, I feel particularly optimistic about this product. If you feel the same way or want to feel the same way then join the waiting list here.

Cheers!

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