Yango under scrutiny over ‘phantom’ trips, driver verification concerns

Patience Makwele

Ride-hailing platform Yango Namibia has defended its safety, customer support and driver verification systems following growing public concern over alleged “phantom” completed trips, delayed responses to customer complaints and reports of drivers whose identities did not match profiles displayed on the application.

The company came under renewed scrutiny after Windhoek Observer submitted questions regarding complaints raised by customers, prompting a media briefing on Friday during which Yango Namibia country manager Alex Mungai acknowledged that “the system is not perfect” but maintained that safeguards are in place to detect fraud, verify driver identities and compensate customers who are wrongly charged.

The briefing follows a wave of customer complaints alleging they were billed for trips or deliveries that never took place, experienced lengthy delays in resolving complaints and encountered drivers who differed from those shown on the platform.

It also comes months after minister of works and transport Veikko Nekundi raised concerns over regulatory compliance within Namibia’s growing e-hailing industry and called for stricter enforcement of public transport laws.