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A new online taxi company, Showfa has been launched in Nairobi, with an ambulance as an added feature to its app.

To access the ambulance service on the app, a button has been activated with a response time being five to seven minutes.

The drivers using the app will not pay any commission, but instead, pay a weekly or monthly fee of up to Sh300 and the passengers will enjoy affordable e-rides.

Present during the launch were Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria and Nairobi Deputy Governor James Njoroge.

The CS said, “We have got this part in our statute that requires international companies to have thirty percent local ownership if you’re to set up some of the operations like data centers. Those laws are outdated.”

Business Development Director at Showfa, Dhruv Rajah said their unique new service will ensure drivers and riders are saving more.

“We have done market research and what the riders and drivers tell us is that they pay too much and exorbitant fees in commissions to foreign companies.We want to change that, we want a platform where they can save more,” Mr Rajah said.

Mr Rajah noted that the new service is safer, cheaper and more reliable to customers.

Uber, Bolt, Little, Uber, Yego and Farasi are among the taxi apps which have been licensed by the National transport and safety authority (NTSA) and currently operating in the country.

Little charges a 15 percent commission per ride, Yego charges 12 percent and others 18 percent per ride.

Uber and Bolt lowered their rates last year after prolonged protests by the drivers.