The mobility startup bob echo is now available in Angola, in the country's capital, Luanda, with 150 electric motorcycles for taxi service via mobile application, which are currently connected to Kubinga, but which, in the short term, will be available on other platforms in the country.
According to what was revealed, the operation is the same as a taxi service, that is, through the application the customer will call the motorcycle. Ride fares will be calculated by the application to which it is associated. Initially, electric motorcycles will start operating with the support of the company's application Kubinga, which already has a similar service, but for combustion vehicles. This agreement is not exclusive, which will allow drivers to register in other applications that are operating in our market.
The expectation is that another 850 will arrive this year, completing 1.000 motorcycles with zero pollution levels in this first phase, according to Paulo Narciso, president of the Angolan Forum of Young Entrepreneurs (FAJE), which is responsible for the process of "distribution" of these units. The investment is from the company from the Netherlands, WGC Versteeg Holding BV by the entrepreneur Wilbert Versteeg and the Bob Eco Group, by the Dutchman Bob Ultee.
"Young people were handpicked. These are people who have already done motorcycle taxi work and received additional training. For the next units, one of the criteria to receive the vehicle is to be associated with FAJE”, explains Paulo Narciso to the weekly Expansão.
Bob Eco drivers will pay the company 4.500 Kz/day, 135 Kz each month to have the pose of the motorcycle and be autonomous in its management. The contract provides that they are responsible for choosing the services and areas where they will operate.
The amortization of electric motorcycles will be carried out over two to three years, depending on whether the driver has paid the installments. In practical terms, the value of the motorcycle reaches 3,2 million Kz, if the payment obligations are strictly fulfilled. Once the full payment is made, the motorcycles will belong to the drivers, so from this date they can continue the activity without having to pay any installment to the company.
Vehicle maintenance will be carried out by a team of Bob Eco mechanics, at the company's premises, and the company will also pay for the motorbike's insurance during the reimbursement period.
In this way, Bob's electric vehicles will provide Angolan citizens with cleaner air and economic opportunities in the poorest communities, with Bob becoming the first electronic mobility startup in Angola, with its electric motorcycle taxis.
