If you lived in a city like New York where parking is
almost impossible, you would appreciate the full service platform that Vaya
Mobility calls “Corporate Mobility Solutions”. No one in New York uses their
car to get to work or for getting to meetings within the city. They completely
rely on companies like Uber and Lyft, who are the US equivalents of Vaya. Now
the latter wants companies in Zimbabwe to enjoy exactly the same services.
Over the last year, Vaya has rolled out three unique
services which together make it very easy for companies and their employees to
be transported without the hassle of having to look for fuel. Each service is
designed for different levels of employees within an organisation. These are:
Vaya Corporate Shuttle, which is a bus services that transports general
workers from home to work and back. It is particularly effective for companies
whose workers work shifts. Thousands of people are now quietly traveling all
day using this service. The same service has been made available to Schools
(Vaya Shuttle) and churches on Sundays. You can even book a Vaya Shuttle for
trips outside the city.
Vaya Carpool is designed for middle management employees, who live
in the same area to share a car on the way to work. It is restricted to just
three passengers, unless there is also a child under 14 years old, then there
can be four people. Vaya wants safety and comfort to be always be part of its
experience. Vaya
Premium, which was the
first service launched, has now taken its place as a service for the top
management in a company. They can order a car for use by them and their
families only.
With all three services now fully operational, Vaya has been quietly approaching companies employing more than 20 people to join Corporate Mobility Solutions. Employees are then given special access account numbers to be used when booking themselves a ride on one of the services. The charge is then made to a corporate account which can either be prepaid or post-paid.
Cassava CEO, Mr Eddie Chibi says the Digital Platform
that runs Vaya is so efficient and intelligent that it can easily transport a
million people a day. He says the service not only deals with the hassle of
fuel cost, but will remain relevant even after the current fuel crisis.
“While the fuel crisis has accelerated adoption, I
believe the business case makes a lot of sense. It is the modern way to go. The
days when people drove cars to work are being phased out worldwide and it is
leading to less congestion on the roads and greater comfort,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Chibi said the number of vehicles
working for Vaya Mobility now exceeded 20 000. He also said each driver was
vetted for criminal backgrounds by the police. The vehicles themselves are
kitted with tracking devices to ensure real time information on their
movements; some vehicles even have Wi-Fi, which is a feature that will be found
in all Vaya vehicles.
Another important aspect of the Vaya service is
constant online training of drivers. Each driver is required to train in
customer care issues like courtesy and safety. Drivers are rated by their
customers, and they can also rate customers, to ensure there is no abuse of the
drivers themselves.
Mr Chibi said rating of both drivers and passengers
was a standard feature of such services around the world.
“If a driver misbehaves or drives recklessly they will
be reprimanded. Equally if a passenger abuses drivers then they will not be
allowed on Vaya. We must all be accountable and courteous to one another,” he
said.
