I drove on Taxify for a week, here’s what it was like

I've been a big fan of Taxify for nearly two years, ever since I first used the service a year and a half ago in South Africa.

When Taxify came to Accra just before Christmas last year, I was excited about the opportunities this will bring to young Ghanaians. Last week however, talks began about a driver protest on Uber and as I listened to different drivers describe the many wrongs that had been done to them while driving with Uber, I decided give Taxify a try before potentially making a recommendation about what alternatives are available to Accra drivers. So in the past week, I have been a Taxify driver, and I will tell everything I learned.

First, some background

? Taxify was founded in 2013 in Europe and has now become the fastest-growing ride-hailing company in Europe and Africa.

? Taxify takes only 15% commission meaning that as a driver, you get to keep 85% of everything you make. 10% less than what their competition charges.

? There are over 500,000 drivers using the platform either full-time or part-time

? To be a Taxify driver, all you need is a smartphone and a four-door car in decent condition. The registration process is simple, personal and seamless.

Onboarding

I started the process of becoming a Taxify driver a week and a half ago. I registered online by visiting the website and filling in the required details.

The very next day, I started my "onboarding" by visiting their office. In essence, this is a training session that gives you a review of the Taxify driver app, how the ratings works, how the finances work, how to give quality customer service and other practical details.

I was ready.

My first two days as a Taxify Driver Partner, I was excited to get on the road and got out at 8am. My first request was an office worker moving from Dansoman to Airport City. On my first day i made about 25GH? an hour on average.

I ended up completing 5 rides on my second day and was excited to see that i had qualified for a 25GH? bonus. I was even more impressed that I could earn over 200GH? from just bonuses every week although this means you will need to go online every day and finish a certain number of trips.

When it comes to the best places for the job, you will end up with the usual suspects Osu, East Legon, etc. You must be smart and find hotspots to operate at specific hours. One feature in the app the can help with this is an in-app heat map the shows areas of peak demand at any moment.

I have now finished my week as a Taxify driver. Within the week I made about 850 GH?. I can confidently say that every driver in Accra needs to get on Taxify. I am going back to being just a rider but I know if I ever need extra money, I can rely on Taxify to deliver and all I will need is my car and my phone. And a little smile.