Today, Premier Alan Winde, MEC Daylin Mitchell and members of their teams took a minibus taxi which the Premier booked using the Loop app.
Loop is a Cape Town-based tech start-up which enables commuters to book a minibus taxi as a shuttle service for once-off trips. The service is app-based, and the vision is to evolve the service to allow individual commuters to use the service to book their taxi-trips to work, shops, school and everywhere else that citizens go using taxis.
The purpose of the engagement with the Premier, MEC Mitchell and their teams was to hear from people how they feel about Loop and the Shadow Call Center being set up in the community of Mitchells Plain.
Member of the Provincial Legislature, Ricardo McKenzie, also participated in the event.
Loop founder, Imtiyaaz Riley: “We are very happy to be receiving this kind of support from the Premier and MEC Mitchell, who represent the Western Cape Government. We are very aware of the visionary conversations around urban mobility which MEC Mitchell is leading. As active citizens and as entrepreneurs, we see ourselves playing a major role in bringing Premier Winde and MEC Mitchell’s visions to life. We are not waiting for government to do things for us. We are stepping-up to do things with government. That’s Loop’s approach. That’s how Loop sees things, and we are very glad that the Western Cape Government shares our vision.”
The Loop app offers an online payment service, which will eliminate significant challenges for drivers and commuters alike. It also offers GPS functionality which will enable trips to be planned and for commuters and their loved-ones to monitor taxi trips in real time.
Jamie Wynguard from Loop, whose focus is on UX (user experience), said, “the users of our service are at the center of the work we do. This applies to taxi operators, drivers and commuters alike. With this event today we are saying that we are building a service fit for the premier and his MECs; but we are building that service for our community members; we are building that service for our taxi operators and taxi drivers who play such an incredibly important role in our economy and in our society.”
Both Riley and Wyngaurd grew up on the Cape Flats. Having grown up in Manenberg and having started other entrepreneurial ventures, Riley’s family has a long history in the taxi industry. Wyngaurd grew up in Montana and studied biology at the University of the Western Cape and Design Thinking at the University of Cape Town.
Source: Government of South Africa