Saytaxi — transportation disruptor now going electric
Since its launch in 2014, Saytaxi has been changing the way mobility works in Albania. Working with a handy booking app, the company is known for both affordability and comfort.
For the “Last mile” program, Saytaxi has joined the Onde platform — the aim is to reduce CO2-emissions and turn Tirana into real emissions-free capital.
About the company
Saytaxi is now the first taxi company in Albania to offer rides with electric vehicles. It also operates a fast electric vehicle charging point. Since introducing the electric fleet, Saytaxi enjoys a 10X increase in orders. 70% of its clients prefer to book electric vehicles.
The challenge
However, the start of the company was not that easy at all. Back in 2014, while the marketing events by Saytaxi were drawing a lot of public interest to the company, people were still used to calling a cab instead of using booking apps. It seemed like the company just could not find the right messaging to convince people to use apps.
Olger Hidri, public relations manager at Saytaxi Albania, shares: ‘Partnership with Onde gave us very powerful tools for:
- Automation of daily business operations,
- Route optimization,
- Keeping drivers highly-engaged with a smart driver queue algorithm,
- Launching referral programs to give a boost to our marketing strategy.
It’s also the most customizable platform available on the market, providing you all the space to grow your business.’
Yet, something essential was still missing to make regular users loyal fans of the app.
Environmental goals — ultimate reason for people to use Saytaxi
So Saytaxi decided to pioneer environmentally-friendly transportation in Tirana. The mission was ambitious right away — to replace 80% of the ‘prehistoric’ cars in the ride-hailing industry with emissions-free vehicles.
According to a survey conducted in the US in February 2016 by the AAA group, 87% of respondents said they’d rather ride an electric car due to concern about the environment. 52% loved the technological advancement of electric vehicles. Electric cars are trending in popularity all over the world for years now.
Going along with this trend was the right step for Saytaxi Albania to make.
Changing transportation affordably
Technological advancements electric vehicles give to humankind do not need to be extremely expensive. Saytaxi Albania has chosen Nissan Leaf as a relatively budget option to start its electric fleet with.
Nissan Leaf quick facts
🔌 Can travel 270 kilometers (170 miles) on a single charge
⏰ Takes just about 30 minutes at a fast-charging station for 80% battery charge, about 7 hours for a full recharge at home
💰It is under € 30,000 after incentives in most European launch markets, which is definitely on the lower side of the EV-market.
As electric cars are often still too expensive for self-employed drivers to afford, Saytaxi allows their drivers to pay vehicle lease with the money they save by going electric.
Saytaxi exceeding expectations
People don’t yet expect an electric vehicle when they book a cab. Saytaxi Albania is far exceeding customers’ expectations this way. You can call it the wow-factor, but ever since riding Nissan Leafs, the number of daily orders has grown 10 times.
‘People are amazed to see an electric cab! We’ve launched a marketing campaign targeting the environmental aspect of our rides. And the feedback is stunning so far.
I am thrilled to see Tirana being at the forefront of the electric revolution. There are more than 1,000 licensed self-employed taxi drivers here. We want at least 800 of them to switch to electric cars and offer sustainable taxi services to the city dwellers,’ Olger shares.
Saytaxi changes the way people move, not only in terms of comfort and affordable pricing but by raising awareness for environmental and noise pollution, too.
Join the future and let it be emissions-free
A single taxi in Tirana rides about 150 kilometers a day. Nissan Leaf can do that on a single charge. Operating several 24/7 charging points, Saytaxi helps the city to switch to electric vehicles faster. With state-of-the-art booking software perfect for growth and business diversification, the company is sure of its brilliant future.
‘Onde provides outstanding technology capable of changing people’s lives through transportation solutions. Now we’ve got everything to get passengers to get a ride with us,’ says Olger.
This type of rethinking the future is what we value at Onde. We support environmentally-friendly ride-hailing businesses and urge taxi companies to join the green movement. Want to learn more about this? Don’t hesitate to contact us!
