Little, Safaricom-backed cab and bus hailing service, has suspended its Shuttle services as its counterpart looks to reach the entire country with its services.
Little announced yesterday in a tweet that it was suspending its services for a while then get back with a bang. TechMoran is yet to establish the cause of the suspension as its counterpart SWVL is in operation, but we suspect the firm aims to use the break to tighten is adherence to local transport regulations as happened before in October 2019.
We deeply regret to announce that the Little Shuttle service has been temporarily suspended effective immediately. We apologize profusely for the inconvenience but the service will be back with a bang very soon. #BetterWithLittle #LittleShuttle #RideALittleBetter pic.twitter.com/e078WeFtVd
— Little (@LittleRideKE) January 8, 2020
Little was the second company to launch Shuttle services in the country after SWVL entry in the market. Uber had also began such trials in Egypt and might be launching the services across Africa soon.
Little didn’t anticipate such problems with the authorities as during launch, the company CEO had hopes of solving Kenya’s mass transport problems.
“I am glad to inform you that we have now launched Little Shuttle. At the press of a button, you can book a Shuttle. A Shuttle that is clean and safe, a Shuttle without hassle, exactly how an ideal mass transport should be,” announced the company CEO Mr. Kamal Budhabhatti.
However, Little found out that its partners were not properly licensed to operate as their buses fell under the Matatu category which is highly regulated by the government. Little driver partners were using Toyota coasters but turned to Toyota Noahs which were not regulated as Matatus.
SWVL, on the other hand, has added Eldoret town after Naivasha, Nakuru and Meru routes during the Christmas holidays. The firm has also added multiple routes from the city center including Ruai, Kiserian and Ngong reaching nearly 60 routes from the CBD.
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