Ever hopped in a taxi and sat in traffic for
hours whilst pedestrians and cyclists sailed
past your window? If so, you may wondered
whether you’re part of the problem and not
the solution. As public transport networks
continue to improve in many African cities,
taxis remain a common mode of getting
around. But for Neil du Preez, there must be
a better way. The South African entrepreneur
has developed Mellowcabs — electric three-
wheeled vehicles designed for eco-friendly
and efficient transportation in urban areas.
CNN’s African Start-Up caught up with du
Preez to talk travel, business and starting up
in South Africa. An edited version of the
interview follows.
CNN: What got you thinking about changing
the taxi concept?
Neil du Preez: The departure point was when
I learned 80% of all urban trips are less than
four kilometers. Globally, taxi rides are fairly
short and it’s really inefficient to use a
traditional taxi for these journeys.
Efficiencies
that can come with a small vehicle are
enormous and passenger savings would be
enormous.
CNN: What stage of development is
Mellowcabs at?
NdP: We built eight prototype cars and did a
lot of testing — we tested brakes, lights,
everything. After the test, we basically
wanted to re-design the entire vehicle and
took the prototypes off the road. We are now
at the stage of building chassis and want to
be on South African roads in the first quarter
of 2015.
CNN: You say these vehicles are designed for
urban areas. Where are you targeting in
South Africa and beyond?
NdP: We already have demand from
advertisers for 60 vehicles in the Western
Cape [The South African province where
Cape Town is located]. After that, we will
focus on Gauteng province — South Africa’s
province where Johannesburg and Pretoria
are located. Beyond that a big mobile phone
company in Nigeria is interested too and we
are considering an initial focus on Lagos. But
this could go beyond Africa too. We have had
talks about a project in Washington DC and
other cities in USA.
Source: CNN
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