THE INFLUENCE OF TECHNOLOGY ON COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF TAXI BUSINESS IN KENYA: THE CASE OF UBER KENYA

Abstract

Competitive advantage has in many years shaped competitors to establish factories and industries which in the case of the taxi industry have enormous impact through the sharing of the rides in technology companies like Uber, Taxify, and Sidecar etc. The now well-developed taxi new services through technology have made the consumers of the services better due to convenience. Taxi companies have been benefitting from a lack of competition in the hire transportation market until recently. The major challenge that the taxi industry is currently facing is the technological innovation of ride-sharing applications. Ridesharing companies, namely Uber and Lyft, operate by using a smartphone app to match consumers requesting rides with drivers that will take them there in a short time. The current taxi technology uses a consumer smart phone app that indicates the taxi driver and the contacts, a pickup place showing the consumer’s payment information. This is done by the use of a GPS device tracks to indicate and also the payment is charged automatically and paid through mobile money or cash after the end of the trip. The taxi company takes a percentage of the fare, and the remaining goes to the driver. In Kenya public transport is very slow and inconveniencing and more especially some areas that are not well connected hence it becomes very challenging for commuters to operate from such areas. The research study is among the very few that have been done on the influence of technology on the competitive advantage of taxi, but it will be the first to provide data for Nairobi hence the need to conduct the study. The study answers the research questions derived from the identified objectives as follows; time efficiency, quality service, pricing and challenges facing technology-based taxi business in Uber industry in Kenya. The study was done at Uber Kenya located on Chiromo lane on Westland in Nairobi targeting staff, drivers and consumers of the services. The study used descriptive design method which adopted the questionnaire as the research instruments and then data collected will be analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The findings on demographic information included age, gender, academic qualifications, duration of service and the position a participant holds at the time of the study. Then the results were obtained on time efficiency based on pick-up time effectiveness and maintenance. On quality service it based on clean and quality cars, rating of customer service and competent and expert drivers. On pricing it based on offering lower prices than traditional taxi services and surge valuation time pricing. Then on automation it based on use of automated payment services and automation on car location. The study concluded that there were more female than men within 25-35 years of age majority being degree holders. Pick up time for Uber taxi services efficient. The cars are of quality and clean but the customer service not effective, the drivers are competent and experts. They offer low prices than other service providers though exaggerate during surge hours. Automated payment services rarely used, the automation is effective in the identification of car location for pick-up. To explore more on factors affecting time maintenance upon request, why customer service is not effective and management of pricing exaggeration during surge hours.