Kenya’s airports manager is set to deploy a State-backed taxi-hailing app for Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), eyeing a share of the local passenger traffic dominated by Uber and Bolt.
The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has advertised tenders from technology firms to design, develop and manage a mobile- and web-based taxi dispatch platform for licensed airport taxis under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The KAA-branded mobile app targets drivers operating yellow taxi cabs.
Under the PPP model, the selected technology firm will build and operate the system and share a percentage of passenger fares with the KAA monthly, tender documents seen by the Business Daily show.
“The overall objective is to design, develop, deploy, and support an official JKIA Airport Digital App, initially focused on regulated taxi booking and ground transport management, and architected as a modular, extensible platform capable of supporting multiple airport commercial and operational services,” say the tender documents.
“Ensures only vetted, airport-authorised drivers operate within JKIA, enhancing safety and compliance.”
This will broaden the KAA’s income streams at a time when it relies on passenger ticket fees and plane landing charges to fund airport upgrades and operational costs.
Passenger traffic at JKIA has surged in recent years to 6.8 million and 2.1 million for international and local travellers in 2024.
The KAA says its taxi-hailing app aims to improve passenger safety, pricing transparency and accountability in airport transport while creating a new digital revenue stream for the authority.
The platform will initially focus on taxi bookings, with an option to schedule rides in advance, but is designed to expand into a broader airport services hub spanning lounge bookings and online shopping.
“The overall objective is to design, develop, deploy, and support an official JKIA Airport Digital App, initially focused on regulated taxi booking and ground transport management, and architected as a modular, extensible platform capable of supporting multiple airport commercial and operational services,” say the tender documents.
Travellers will be booking only authorised taxis through a KAA-branded mobile app, a web portal or on-site kiosks, with real-time fare estimates, vehicle tracking and trip notifications. It will also include a dispatch engine to automatically allocate drivers, similar to how ride-hailing platforms operate, and manage queues across terminals.
The KAA says the app will create geofenced taxi ranks, using GPS technology to manage, track, and restrict vehicle movements, enforce waiting rules, implement surge pricing, and automate app functionality when vehicles enter or exit designated zones.
“Prevents unauthorised pickups and ensures taxis operate only within approved airport zones,” the documents say.
“The system must generate trip, fare, driver, and booking channel reports; daily revenue and monthly commission summaries, performance dashboards and regulatory reports for KAA and NTSA.”
The app must be available on Android and iOS devices and support multiple languages for international travellers, the tender documents say.
The KAA seeks to model its taxi-hailing app on passenger freight services in major international airports that have digital cabs.
TappAXI in the UK, for instance, is an app for booking airport taxi transfers across most UK airports, including London Heathrow and Gatwick.
The app offers pre-booking options to allow scheduling and avoid wait times, fixed fares, flight tracking, where drivers monitor flight delays, and 60 minutes of free waiting time after plane landings.
The KAA seeks to expand the planned digital platform into a multi-service airport app covering online purchase of duty-free items and gifts, parking reservations and lounge bookings.
The app will also be integrated with KAA’s flight information system, providing JKIA terminal maps and indoor navigation readiness, gate alerts, service directories, and customer support options.
The authority has disclosed that the State also seeks to earn money from sponsored tenant listings, digital advertising campaigns and data monetisation on the app.
The winning bidder is required to deploy the system within three months of contract signing and provide ongoing technical support and operations management.
“The selected vendor shall collect passenger fares through the system and remit an agreed percentage to be proposed in the financial bid to KAA monthly,” the tender documents say.
