Ride-hailing company with roots in Africa hits the road in Saskatoon

Ride-hailing services might be old news in some major cities, but Saskatoon is a fresh new market for the major players and an attractive testing ground for a new startup.

We're hoping to have about 100 drivers.- Daniel Amoah

Rel8 joins Uber to become Saskatoon's second ride-hailing service, and it arrives after first hitting the roads in West Africa.

"Ghana was just a pilot," said Rel8's Daniel Amoah in an interview with CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.

"The main project is what we're running now in Saskatoon."

The app-based ride hailing service is promising a lot in a competitive market. Rel8 suggests its fare will settle somewhere between Uber and what you pay for a taxi. The company is also pushing the idea that its drivers will be able to earn a decent wage.

"We're hoping to have about 100 drivers," said Amoah.

Fast and inexpensive 

Volume seems to be at the heart of Rel8's business model. Amoah said drivers will have a small radius of responsibility so  they should be able to get to customers quickly.

"If we have lots of drivers driving on each of these services we can have riders here in Saskatoon you know get access to vehicles anytime they want it," he said.

"We don't want long drives for pickups because that increases the cancellation rate. The whole intent of the service is to provide people with affordable rides and right on time."

Amoah said they've signed up and approved about 10 drivers who are now out on the roads. Rel8 has ambitions beyond Saskatoon, but Amoah said the company feels a sense of loyalty to the community.

"Saskatoon is the premier city and we're hoping to operate in Saskatoon for a very, very long time."