Egypt start-up to take on traffic congestion problems
Egypt-based IT startup has developed a mobile car-sharing application to solve Cairo’s complicated traffic problem, Wamda reported.
Hayk Hakobyan, one of three cofounders of KarTag, a newly launched social carpooling mobile app available for iOS and Android devices, says that through the app, users can offer rides to their Facebook community in their own cars, setting the price and itinerary themselves with no interference from KarTag.
“Our app facilitates matchmaking between those who have a car with those who need a ride. This is all being done among Facebook friends, friends of friends, and colleagues / students from the same company, university, or area,” he says.
“We believe that everyone should have access to affordable and reliable transport, and that being on the road can still be cheap, green, and fun,” he adds.
Launched in May 2013, KarTag joins a long list of carpooling apps in the Middle East region in general, and Egypt in particular. Services such as Waselny in Jordan, and Egypt Carpoolers and NerkabSawa (among many others) in Egypt, have been struggling to persuade users to adopt the concept of carpooling. With a different take on social carpooling, KarTag aims to bridge the culturally driven tendency to mistrust such services.
KarTag is still trying to reach to potential customers, although the app has been downloaded 1,000 times on Google Play since its launch last May, and slightly less than 1,000 times on the App Store. Hakobyan says they are currently forging partnerships with universities (Heliopolis University is on board at press time), multinational corporations and organizations, as well as with other apps related to transportation and traffic such as sharemyfare.com in Turkey, and Wasalny in Egypt.
KarTag will need to deal with another well-established competitor, PieRide, a company that also allows people traveling to and from the same area (university students, work colleagues, etc.) to share a car or bus driven by a professional driver. Hakobyan seems quite sure his venture is different: “While KarTag is a social, community-based carpooling service, PieRide is more a mixture of a subscription-based taxi and carsharing.” He’s careful to mention, though, that their overally missions are the same: “However different, both startups aim to alleviate increasing traffic levels in Cairo.”
Egypt-based IT startup has developed a mobile car-sharing application to solve Cairo's complicated traffic problem, Wamda reported. Hayk Hakobyan, one of three cofounders of KarTag, a newly launched social carpooling mobile app available for iOS and Android devices, says that through the app, users can offer rides to their Facebook community in their own cars, setting the price and itinerary themselves with no interference from KarTag. “Our app facilitates matchmaking between those who have a car with those who need a ride. This is all being done among Facebook friends, friends of friends, and colleagues / students from the same company,...
Egypt-based IT startup has developed a mobile car-sharing application to solve Cairo’s complicated traffic problem, Wamda reported.
Hayk Hakobyan, one of three cofounders of KarTag, a newly launched social carpooling mobile app available for iOS and Android devices, says that through the app, users can offer rides to their Facebook community in their own cars, setting the price and itinerary themselves with no interference from KarTag.
“Our app facilitates matchmaking between those who have a car with those who need a ride. This is all being done among Facebook friends, friends of friends, and colleagues / students from the same company, university, or area,” he says.
“We believe that everyone should have access to affordable and reliable transport, and that being on the road can still be cheap, green, and fun,” he adds.
Launched in May 2013, KarTag joins a long list of carpooling apps in the Middle East region in general, and Egypt in particular. Services such as Waselny in Jordan, and Egypt Carpoolers and NerkabSawa (among many others) in Egypt, have been struggling to persuade users to adopt the concept of carpooling. With a different take on social carpooling, KarTag aims to bridge the culturally driven tendency to mistrust such services.
KarTag is still trying to reach to potential customers, although the app has been downloaded 1,000 times on Google Play since its launch last May, and slightly less than 1,000 times on the App Store. Hakobyan says they are currently forging partnerships with universities (Heliopolis University is on board at press time), multinational corporations and organizations, as well as with other apps related to transportation and traffic such as sharemyfare.com in Turkey, and Wasalny in Egypt.
KarTag will need to deal with another well-established competitor, PieRide, a company that also allows people traveling to and from the same area (university students, work colleagues, etc.) to share a car or bus driven by a professional driver. Hakobyan seems quite sure his venture is different: “While KarTag is a social, community-based carpooling service, PieRide is more a mixture of a subscription-based taxi and carsharing.” He’s careful to mention, though, that their overally missions are the same: “However different, both startups aim to alleviate increasing traffic levels in Cairo.”
