SafeBoda App review: Uganda’s hailing rider App

On a Monday morning i woke up early and realized that i had project presentation at a one Kololo incubation hub . Just like any other day i tried to calculate what my transport fare would be from kikoni to kololo .

Then i remembered , i had downloaded this safeboda app which i had never used . I thought to myself perhaps this is  the right time i gave it a shot .

I also wanted to make a detailed unbiased safeboda app review for my readers. The review your about to read was neither sponsored nor influenced by safeboda developers.

As always, in my unbiased review series , i love sharing my mind about technology products used by Ugandans . I have done this for a couple of products such as this Tecno spark 2 unbiased review and Matatu app review .

Normally in my unbiased review series , i share my first day experience with these products and let you decide for yourself whether you should give them a shot or not .

About the reviewer .

I am a computer science student with passion in programming , gadgets and all technology trends .

In this series of unbiased reviews i love sharing my realistic mind on a couple of technology products used by Ugandans .

You can subscribe to ugtechmag mailing list or bookmark this page to follow up the latest reviews and buyers guides on Ugandan technology consumer products .

My Safeboda App Review

SafeBoda App Design

This application comes with a simple to navigate interface for first time users . By the fact of the matter i had already signed up with safeboda app , this process takes a few minutes to get started .

The application comes with an orange theme which is one of my favorite colors . You can also navigate to any feature in this app by simply tapping the icon menu which opens the sidebar navigation drawer.

Their is a lot to appreciate about the application interface which however carries little weight as far as the role of safeboda is concerned .

I would rate the overall design of safe boda with a 4.0 Star .

SafeBoda Functionalities Review .

SafeBoda Login and sign up process

The first time i signed up with safeboda , i expected the app to automatically detect my phone verification code which however wasn’t the case . Just like it happens for most applications such as whatsapp and messenger.

I always find it hard to read these codes and then retype them in the verification box .

I think safeboda development team should work hard in including this in their next update .

I would rate the entire login and sign up process with a 4.0 star.

Safeboda Payment .

On my first day using this app, i wanted to load my mobile money credit so that i can conveniently pay my rider using this gorgeous service .

However a few things happened , One, the application could take 30 seconds to transact money from my mtn mobile money account .

This wouldn’t be any problem , however the fact that it took years to receive the mtn confirmation dialog appear on my screen was so irritating .

Remember i wanted to get a safe boda faster and hit the road to my destination since i had a time deadline to meet .

In Fact i tried loading credit at least 4 times before the last operation was successful . I had at some point thought to myself whether i should rather use the other rider apps and remembered that i had to share my safeboda experience with my readers .

I think safeboda mobile money crediting system should be made a little more faster .

Good thing about the payment system , it was easy to use and no cash was deducted from my account with crediting it on the app.

I would rate the safeboda payment feature with 3.5 star .

SafeBoda Contact Support .

After failing to credit some payments from mtn mobile money to safeboda for at least 4 times , i tried to call their customer support to inquire what my problem might be .

I was surprised, safeboda doesn’t have customer support at hours below 8am and above 5pm . I had thought to myself perhaps since they are one of the leading rider companies around kampala, they should at least try and invest in a 24 hour customer support .

I would rate the customer support with 3.5 star .

SafeBoda Requesting a Ride .

After struggling to credit mobile money cash on my safeboda app , i wanted to set my ride from pick up location to drop off destination .

The application has got two ways to set a pick up and drop off location on the map .

The first one was using the place autocomplete search bar which allows you to enter the pickup and drop off location . This one is fair if you know names of both locations .

However in the case you don’t know the names of these locations, the second option allows you to move two pins and mark them on both the pickup and drop off location . This was perhaps my best feature in the application .

It was easier for me to setup these two locations on the map especially the pickup location .

In fact i had to first google my destination address since it was no where indicated in the app .

Following this i confirmed my pickup and destination address by tapping the green button and requested for a ride using credit payment ( i didn’t pay on requesting but rather just selected my payment method for better fares ) .

The application started searching for the nearest safeboda in kikoni, i never thought safe boda could fail to have riders in kikoni where a number of university students hail from .

I tried searching for safe bodas at least 4 times and the application kept returning no safe bodas found near you .

I wanted to switch to another rider app but remembered i wanted to give unbiased review about the app and such experiences would be helpful to the app developers .

I decided to move from my place to makerere small gate and requested for another ride which wasn’t successful as well with all those riders i saw pass via me .

I couldn’t understand the logic behind their way of finding nearest safe bodas even though i saw some riders pass via me .

So i had to move till Makerere main gate until i was connected to one closest safe boda rider .

I would rate the overall request ride experience with safeboda a 3.5 star

A ride with a safeboda rider

I received a call from this safe boda rider when i was still some meters away from the pickup location .

I thought to myself i would find when the rider has gone away since i was late by a few minutes however it turned out it wasn’t the case .

On reaching the main gate i found a proud safe boda rider who ushered me in with a warm welcome and asked me my destination location again just to confirm .

In a matter of seconds i was on my first ride with a safe boda rider . Along the way i tried to engage with this charming safe boda rider who shared with me his experience about the rider app .

Among some key things i do remember , this rider confirmed to me how they make some good money by using this application .

” On average i can make UGx. 40,000 (approximately $11) and save UGx. 20,000 ( approximately $5 )”– which is an average daily income for a common ugandan .

He mentioned to me that safe boda takes a 25% commision during the start and 15% after a rider settles their dues .

I enjoyed the conversion along the ride since it was helpful for my review .

SafeBoda Fares .

After reaching my destination , i pulled out my safe boda app and cleared this rider .

I was surprised that i had saved at least 50% compared to the normal prices . I used to spend 3K fare up to this place unlike the UGx.1500 cost this time .

I would rate the safe boda fares with 4.0 star .

Rating the boda rider

Following the experience and the way this guy was able to take me through the streets of kampala without any major threats or fear for my life , i decided to give this rider a 5.0 star rating .

Final verdict .

I think we all acknowledge the wonderful work rider companies such as safe boda and others have made as far as revolutionizing the transport sector here in Uganda .

Personally i think safeboda is one of those few rider companies which is still outstanding here in Uganda .

However as they grow they should still focus on refurbishing those gaps mentioned above in making their product better and customer friendly .

All the experiences and ratings in this article are from the customer perspective. If you have any other issue on contrary about this safeboda review feel free to share it with us in the comment section below .