Yango, an international online taxi booking service that already operates in 18 countries in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa, was launched today in Douala. Cameroon becomes its third country in Africa after Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
Yango is part of Yandex, one of the largest European IT companies. The Yango mobile app for iOS and Android can be downloaded for free in French, English and many other languages. To order a car, the user must download the application, open it, and specify where to go.
The service itself determines the user’s position when geolocation is activated and finds the driver who will arrive the fastest. The price of the trip is then calculated by the application algorithms at the time of ordering the car – just enter the destination address. The user can pay for his trip in cash.
The trips ordered with Yango to Douala start from 200 FCFA. For example, a trip from Bonamoussadi (Carrefour Market) to Akwa (Direction générale Orange) costs around 800 FCFA before discount, while the trip from Kotto (Tradex antennas Kotto) to Japoma (Stadium, sports complex) will cost around 1700 FCFA.
The service has a support team which is available through the app. If the user forgets something in the car or wants to ask a question, he can contact the support service via the app. For quality control, additionally, the Yango app allows the user to record each trip. In the worst of cases, drivers with a bad rating may be denied access to the service for a certain period of time.
Unlike other online services around the world, the Yango app uses its own technologies for mapping, routing and navigation as well as intelligent distribution of orders. That significantly reduces the net cost of the journey and the time a driver spends looking for a customer, heading to the next or to drive a customer to his destination.
Technologies and efficient routes ensure a high utilization of the working hours of the drivers while offering a predictable and affordable service to users. Yango offers users in Douala a modern service that make a more convenient, affordable and safe race.
Now you can easily order a taxi, sitting at home, without having to go out, and also watch on yiur phone screen how the car comes to you. The app tells you the color, model and license plate number of the car as well as information on the transport provider and its driver.
Besides, you won’t need to negotiate the price and share a car with other people. In terms of safety, the application allows you to send your route to members of your family and contact emergency services through the app if needed.
“That really makes the difference “, – Didier Theze, regional director of Yango in Cameroon.
“In Africa, Cameroon therefore becomes the third country on the continent to have the Yango service. Our success in other countries allows us to explore new markets and we are happy that more and more people have access to our service. We are confident that the people of Douala will appreciate the benefits of Yango “, – Adeniyi Adebayo, Managing Director of Yango in Africa.
Yango does not have its own cars or drivers, it allows transport providers premises (companies that provide transport services independently) to use its services. Along with the launch of the application, a center dedicated to chauffeurs was recently opened in Douala. They can learn to work with the application, follow other training courses and take tests.
About Yango and Yandex.Taxi and Yandex.
Yango is a carpooling service. It is provided by Yandex.Taxi, an international group of companies that operate mobility and delivery activities in 21 countries in the EMEA region under the Yandex Go, Yango and Uber Russia brands, among others, since 2011.
In 2021, more than 2 million drivers carried out errands and deliveries in the countries where Yandex.Taxi services operate. Yandex.Taxi, headquartered in the Netherlands, is part of Yandex (NASDAQ and MOEX: YNDX), a technology company that creates smart products and services through to machine learning. Its aim is to help consumers and businesses to better navigate the online and offline world.
Since 1997, it has been providing World-class and locally relevant research and information services. What’s more, it has developed on-demand transport services, navigation products and other mobile applications for millions of consumers.
Yandex, which has more than 30 offices and 5 data centers worldwide, has been listed on the NASDAQ since 2011. In 2017, Yandex and Uber signed an agreement to merge their activities and operations of carpooling and foodtech in Russia and several neighboring countries. The merger has ended in February 2018.
Approximately 59% of the consolidated company based in the Netherlands, named MLU B.V., is owned by Yandex, and around 37% by Uber; the rest belongs to the employees. In countries which are not part of the scope of the agreement, in particular Norway, Yandex and Uber are still in competition. Since the fourth quarter of 2018, the carpooling activity of Yandex.Taxi has been profitable in all geographic areas, despite the pandemic. In 2020, the revenues of its ridesharing and food tech segments topped $ 800 million, reaching 30% of all Yandex income.
