Dorcas Egede
In a bid to enhance user experience on their bus-hailing mobile application, Plentwaka has upgraded their current mobile application to a higher version, Plentywaka2.0.
This was revealed during a test driving and media briefing Thursday.
Starting with 25 buses, Plentywaka launched their bus-hailing service to “change the transportation landscape one bus at a time, provide a source of income for drivers and vehicle assistants, create a safe and convenient transport system for bus drivers, curb traffic congestion and polition by encouraging public transportation and reducing the number of individual cars on our roads.” According to the Johnny Enagwolor, MD and Co-founder of Plentywaka, these aims have been achieved and more effort is still being put in by the Plentywaka team to ensure that riders continue to have safe, convenient and comfortable rides courtesy Plentywaka.
What began as a scary and somewhat unachievable dream has now become a brand many want to reckon with. Said Enagwolor, “Few months ago, we launched this beautiful idea called Plentywaka and as we speak today, it’s gradually becoming a big brand people can now boast of and associate with, and we’re happy with that. Few months ago, this was a dream that looked scary, and at some point, looked unachievable, but we are glad that as we speak today, on App store and Goggle Playstore alone, we have had about 15,000 downloads, and in the last two months, we have been able to move over 25,000 riders and that is growing. Traction is building.
Moreover, since launching Plentywaka in September with CMS to Ajah and Ajah to CMS being the pilot routes, Plentywaka has since added more routes to reach out to more road users. “We launched with the Ajah-CMS route, but we had to extend our route to Abraham Adesanya. So, right now, we are actually operating Abraham Adesanya to Ajah. We also launched another new route, which is Ahmadu Bello, Eko hotel to Ademola Adetokunbo back to Ajah.”
Adding that because of the growth the business has witnessed in the last few months, the 25 buses with which Plentywaka was launched can no longer meet the demands of riders along the various routes Plentywaka operates, Enagwolor said, “We are expanding and it has become pertinent for us to get more buses. How do we achieve that?”
To get more buses in their fleet, Enagwolor said that the bus-hailing company launched the “Plentywaka Vehicle Partnership two days ago and the feedback have been amazing.” The essence of the Plentywaka Vehicle Partnership, he said is to allow people who have indicated interest in partnering with Plentywaka start on-boarding their vehicles on the platform.
According to Enagwolor, the bus-hailing company used the 25 buses initially launched to test the model and set the standard. “People are used to the standard that we have set and actually enjoy the services we currently offer – the comfort, convenience and safety. We have had cases of people leaving wallets containing huge sums and expensive things on the bus and they were returned.” He said.
The partnership, Enagwolor, said, would allow people bring buses on the platform and earn returns on their investments. “What happens is when you bring a bus on the system, you are guaranteed a return of revenue generation of between N500,000 – N800,000 every month. From the revenue generated, Plentywaka gets 30% and partners get 70%. This is one part of the partnership. We have another part, whereby people who want to partner with Plentywaka and don’t have buses can actually bring 30% equity contribution of the total cost of the capital.
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“We have signed a pact with a finance company that will finance the asset, all investors have to do is provide 30% equity on that asset and we’ll finance the asset for you. When you put the bus on the system, 70% of the revenue we generate on the asset would be paid to the finance company, as repayment of loan to buy the buses and 30% will be paid to the partner that will eventually become the owner of the asset. We are looking at getting 100 buses before the first week of January. He said.
Speaking on the workings of the Plentywaka 2.0 app, Afolabi Oluwaseyi, VP Operations, Plentywaka explained that the app was improved upon to enhance user experience. According to Afolabi, previously, users could only log into the app using their email address, but in the improved app, users can now log in with their phone numbers. Moreover, apart from setting your pick up and drop down point, users can now book rides for as many as 20 persons, if they want. The app now also has an option that helps the user select which direction they’re going, towards CMS or towards Ajah.
Other benefits of the Plentywaka 2.0 app include wakapurse, which enables riders transfer money from their account into the purse on the app. This takes care of the fear people entertain about putting their card details out on public space. Also, users can transfer funds from their wakapurse to the purses of other Plentywaka users.
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