Free Electric Motorcycle Taxi, sponsored by advertisers

Entrepreneurs from South Africa have come up with an innovative business idea – free advertising taxi services. The concept revolves around offering free taxi rides to passengers who are willing to engage in advertising during their journey.

Transport

The enterprising Africans use eco-friendly pedal-assisted electric tricycles with excellent visibility as their mode of transportation. These tricycles have an open design and are operated like a cycle rickshaw. Apart from the driver, the tricycle can comfortably accommodate 2 passengers.

These taxis operate for short distances, covering approximately 100-120 km per day. The electric tricycle is fully charged to cover such distances. The innovative South African taxi can reach a speed of up to 112 km/h.

During braking, the tricycle's electric motor generates electricity, which is used to power the interior of the vehicle. This feature allows passengers to charge their smartphones directly in the electric tricycle if needed.

Main Idea

Passengers do not have to pay for the transport services provided by the taxi (though they can tip the driver). However, during the journey, passengers are required to view and listen to a stream of advertising messages pouring from the onboard tablet installed in the open cabin.

The cycle rickshaw not only serves as transportation but also promotes brands and drives sales. During the ride, the driver talks about the brands and companies sponsoring the advertising taxi. Therefore, the job requires sociable individuals with excellent communication skills. Proficiency in both Afrikaans and English is a mandatory requirement.

The advertising taxi service is named Mellowcabs. Their vehicles can be easily recognized by their distinctive design and corresponding logo. All Mellowcabs are white or yellow in color.

Conclusions

The original South African advertising taxi serves three main purposes:

• Providing convenient and accessible public transport;
• Solving advertising tasks – Mellowcabs serve as an excellent advertising platform;
• Implementing eco-friendly technologies – electric tricycles help reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

Thus, Mellowcabs can be considered one of the most unique and beneficial taxi services available.

Business Features

To establish such a business, interested advertisers need to be found since they are the main sponsors of the taxi service.

Careful selection of drivers is necessary – they need to be persuasive and have experience in making "cold calls" to achieve marketing goals.

Identifying the primary target audience is crucial to create targeted advertising blocks. In South Africa, geotargeted advertising is utilized, primarily targeting tourists and local women (housewives) going out for shopping. According to the organizers of Mellowcabs, they already have a group of regular advertiser clients.