South Africans are becoming more aware of their surroundings, and staying safe is of utmost importance — especially in high-risk cities (like Stuff‘s own front lawn that is Johannesburg). Taxify, with the help of emergency assistance app Namola, is rolling out a new safety feature for Taxify drivers and users. The app will now launch an emergency button that, if pressed, connects at-risk drivers to a suitable emergency service.
For those that are unsure — Taxify is an on-demand ride hailing app that links up cars with people looking for lifts, and is available in all major metropolitan cities in South Africa. The people over at Namola (a mobile app that helps users receive emergency assistance by Dialdirect Insurance), are teaming up with Taxify to address concerns around driver safety and security.
More on the button — it will allow Taxify drivers to access rapid deployment of the correct emergency response when danger strikes.We don’t want to bring a nurse to an active gunfight now, do we? The button will allow users to access the Namola app through the Taxify app, sending info like their GPS coordinates, name and nature of the emergency to a 24/7 response call centre, which will verify the incident details and connect the user to emergency medical services and SAPS. Namola will save the day. As usual.
This integration is in its pilot phase, but they plan to roll out the new feature to all drivers by the end of April. Taxify is available for download in South Africa, and mainly functions in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
