{"id":579916,"date":"2025-01-26T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=579916"},"modified":"2025-01-27T07:54:31","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T05:54:31","slug":"afrikaans-uber-rival-cooking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/motoring\/579916-afrikaans-uber-rival-cooking.html","title":{"rendered":"Afrikaans Uber rival cooking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A recently launched South African e-hailing service dubbed Wanatu has the tongues wagging for its policy of only employing drivers who can speak Afrikaans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the new platform, dubbed Wanatu, promises more than its unusual recruitment requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wanatu debuted in Pretoria and Centurion in October 2024, following a months-long driver recruitment and training process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By early December 2024, it had already recorded over 10,000 registrations. That number had grown to 30,000 by 21 January 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service’s name derives from the Afrikaans colloquialism “Waarnatoe”, which translates to “Where to” in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wanatu is similar to Bolt and Uber in that it allows users to request rides from one location to another using a mobile app. However, it has a very different business model than those platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from the language requirement, Wanatu aims to distinguish itself from other e-hailing services with higher quality vehicles and better security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike Bolt and Uber, the service owns all vehicles in its fleet \u2014 which currently consists of 50 branded Toyota Corolla Cross hybrids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wanatu told Maroela Media that all its vehicles are fitted with a dashcam and inward-facing camera, GPS tracking device, a two-way radio system, and a panic button linked to an armed response service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another key difference from Bolt and Uber is that drivers are employed by the company and are not treated as independent contractors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wanatu chief executive Judith van der Walt recently told Rapport<\/a> that the service employed 85 drivers from 1,100 applicants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interested drivers are strictly vetted, including checking and verifying their criminal records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drivers must also pass a training course in defensive and economical driving, conflict management, emergency procedures, and tech education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the current drivers hold tertiary qualifications and have valuable work experience but were recently retrenched due to a constrained job market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Some of Wanatu’s first drivers during the company’s launch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Protecting vulnerable clientele <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Instead of choosing when they are online themselves, drivers are assigned to particular shifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Users can also request a specific driver if they are available at that time. This encourages drivers to build a loyal client base from which they can directly benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van der Walt said that about 35% of the service’s passengers were schoolchildren, while elderly people who could no longer drive were also among the service’s most frequent users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van der Walt said that transporting vulnerable customers was an enormous responsibility, which means safety was non-negotiable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the in-car safety features, Wanatu operates a control room that monitors each ride to ensure safety and high-quality service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Prices competitive with big players <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the added cost of security and permanent employment for its drivers, Wanatu said its prices are competitive with other e-hailing services, especially considering its high standards and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar to Bolt and Uber, customers can see their trip costs before booking a ride. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wanatu service and its drivers have received high praise in customer reviews. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of 26 January 2025, it had a rating of 3.6 out of 5 on the Apple App Store and 3.8 on the Google Play Store. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most issues reported with the service relate to a lack of certain features and bugs within the apps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While drivers must be able to speak Afrikaans, riders of any language are welcome to use the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the app’s name itself is Afrikaans, users can select English on the first page to register an account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To maintain the platform’s security, users must provide a selfie and ID number when registering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wanatu is currently only available in Pretoria and Centurion. It plans to expand into new areas in the future, but these remain to be confirmed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Language-based recruitment criteria aside, Wanatu has a very different business model than conventional e-hailing services, with a bigger emphasis on safety and pristine vehicles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":579922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29366],"tags":[26172,63589,49389,20853,98577],"class_list":["post-579916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-bolt","tag-e-hailing","tag-ride-hailing-services","tag-uber","tag-wanatu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579916"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579916"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":579981,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579916\/revisions\/579981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}