Dissecting the ridesharing apps market in Lagos Nigeria

Lagos is one of the busiest if not the busiest state in Nigeria and getting around is often a major pain point for a lot of its residents. Be it not having a car of one’s own, racking up fuel expense while stuck in traffic, getting pulled over, struggling to find parking, the lack of comfort of conventional public transport or just the pure convenience, there are lots of reasons Lagos’ residents are opting for rideshare aps. For those who may be new to the concept, rideshare apps are mobile apps allowing users to order a ride from their location to a destination of their choice, tapping into a fleet of crowd-sourced drivers all around the city. They present an often times faster, safer and more convenient alternative to conventional forms of transportation.

What is the current landscape?

The rideshare horn is blaring in Lagos, one of Africa’s most populous and metropolitan cities, and several players have stepped forward to answer the call. There are quite a number of options for taxi apps available in Lagos today. The options range from the international players such as Uber and Taxify (now Bolt), who have seen value in serving Lagos’ large and bustling market, as well as the indigenous players such as Oga Taxi that are increasingly gaining popularity. The growing competition is hot, and ultimately great for the consumers in this market, as the local rideshare companies are pulling out all the stops to be the preferred choice. Some apps offer VIP cars and treatment for your more highbrow events, some offer relocation services to help you with your housing move, while others offer the ability to split your fare with friends to appeal to the frugal mind in all of us, some even offer female passengers the opportunity to select female drivers over male drivers to make them feel more comfortable, and the list goes on.

So, who’s winning?

We conducted an independent study where we’ve tried to determine which of these apps is leading the market in terms of usability, affordability, safety and overall popularity amongst different demographics in Lagos.

The clear leaders with respect to usage are Uber and Taxify (now Bolt), no doubt due to their experience and maturity in the industry. Oga Taxi, however, is not far behind almost matching bolt in terms of usership.

Breaking usership down further by age and gender reveals some interesting trends. Although the top three remain unchanged, we notice that younger generations are more willing to experiment and have tried a wider variety of apps. We also notice that women seem to stick more closely to the big names in comparison to their male counterparts.

When consumers were asked simply which app they thought was the best, Uber was the overwhelming favourite, securing 45% of the vote. Surprisingly Oga Taxi beat out Taxify (now Bolt) in this category. Although this is a slim victory for Oga Taxi (only 1%) it further underscores the fact that indigenous players can not be counted out of this market.

To dig a bit deeper on why users prefer certain apps to others we consider safety, reliability and price. We notice there is general agreement amongst all age groups that when it comes to safety, they trust Uber. However looking at the battle for second in this category between Oga Taxi and Taxify (now Bolt), we see that women perceive Taxify to be the safer option.

Finally, but certainly not least, taking a look at pricing and reliability reveals that Uber once again leads the pack followed closely by Taxify (now Bolt) and then Oga Taxi. Perhaps, this speaks further to the advantages that experience and resources provide.

In Summary

The international players, Uber and Taxity (now Bolt), are dominant in the market. That being said indigenous players such as Oga Taxi and Naija Taxi are gaining relevance but need to work a little harder to close the gap in key areas such as their perceived safety and reliability. The younger generations are much more active when it comes to ridesharing apps so a focus on gaining a better understanding of what it would take to secure their loyalty needs to be top of mind for would-be market leaders. The market in Lagos is huge, meaning there is enough room for competition to thrive. What will it take to win? As is cited in several psychological texts, perception is reality, so by understanding how they are perceived in the market these apps can better position themselves to conquer it.

For more consumer insights on ridesharing apps in Lagos, Nigeria, drop us a note. What other topics are you curious about? Share your thoughts with us at info@enlumidata.com.