Shuttlers launches shared door to door car service in Lagos

Getting around Lagos can mean taking a bus, ordering a ride-hailing car or paying for a private trip. Shuttlers is adding another format to its transport business: a car that can be shared with other passengers but still picks you up from your location. The company has launched Shuttlers Pod, a scheduled door-to-door car service for people travelling to work, events and other destinations across Lagos. A Pod carries three to four passengers travelling in the same direction. Each passenger is picked up from their chosen location and dropped off at their destination. Customers who do not want to share can also book the entire car privately.

It works differently from ride-hailing

Pod is not an on demand service. Passengers book their trips ahead of time and get a fixed fare before the journey. Shuttlers says the price will not increase because of higher demand, and passengers will not have to negotiate with the driver. Each trip has an assigned driver, which Shuttlers calls a Pilot. The company says a Pod ride will cost about 50% less than a typical ride-hailing trip. The lower price comes from putting several passengers into the same car and having them share the cost. The catch is that customers have to plan their trips in advance.

The bus stop is no longer part of the trip

Shuttlers already runs scheduled bus routes for commuters, but those services depend on designated pickup points. Pod changes that. A passenger can choose where they want to be picked up and where they want to be dropped off. Shuttlers then groups that passenger with other people whose journeys fit the same trip. So instead of walking to a bus stop, a commuter can wait at their chosen pickup point. The company still has to work out the routing between passengers, which means the service depends on having enough people travelling in similar directions and around the same time.

Shuttlers has been running scheduled transport since 2016

The company is not new to shared commuting. Shuttlers launched in 2016 and started with scheduled bus services for professionals. It now operates in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Its Shuttlers Daily service handles work commutes, while Shuttlers for Business provides employee transportation for companies. The company also rents vehicles through Shuttlers Rental and provides event transportation through EventGo. Pod is being added to this existing lineup.

It has already completed 10 million trips

Shuttlers says it recently crossed 10 million completed journeys. The company currently handles more than 600,000 trips each month across Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Its network covers more than 1,000 itineraries across 400 routes. More than 430 buses operate every day, according to Shuttlers. The company also says more than 50,000 professionals use its daily work-commute service and that it has completed 99% of its trips since launching. That existing operation matters because Pod is not starting with a new transport network. Shuttlers already has drivers, fleet partners, passengers and a booking system for scheduled journeys.

Sharing is the reason for the lower fare

The economics of Pod are fairly simple. A private ride puts the cost of the entire trip on one passenger. Pod spreads that cost across three or four passengers travelling along compatible routes. Shuttlers says this makes the service roughly half the price of a typical ride-hailing trip. But the passenger gives up some of the convenience of having a private car. They have to book before the trip, and they will be sharing the vehicle unless they pay for a private booking. For regular commuters who already know when and where they are travelling, that may be an easier trade-off than paying the full ride-hailing fare every day.

Private bookings are available too

Pod is not limited to shared rides. A customer can book the entire car instead of sharing it with other passengers. That could work for someone travelling with friends or colleagues, or for a customer who wants the door-to-door service without sharing the vehicle. The service is still scheduled, though, so it is different from simply opening a ride-hailing app and requesting a car.

The fixed fare also removes surge pricing

Shuttlers says Pod will not use surge pricing. That means the fare shown when a passenger books should remain the same even when demand for rides increases. For Lagos commuters who regularly use ride-hailing services, this is one of the more noticeable differences. A trip booked through Pod is planned around a set time and price, rather than being priced according to how many cars and passengers are on the road at that moment.

The model fits Shuttlers’ existing business

Shuttlers has spent years running scheduled trips rather than competing directly with on-demand ride hailing. Its buses already move people along planned routes and schedules. Pod takes that same idea into cars. The difference is the size of the vehicle and the pickup point. Instead of putting dozens of passengers on one bus route, a Pod takes three or four people whose trips can be combined. That also means Shuttlers has to match passengers carefully. If people are travelling to completely different parts of Lagos at different times, there is little benefit in putting them in the same car.

Lagos gives the service a lot of potential routes

The city has commuters travelling between residential areas, business districts, schools, shopping centres and event venues every day. Shuttlers says Pod will be available for work trips, events and other planned journeys. For the company, the challenge will be filling cars consistently enough to keep the shared fare low while still giving passengers a reliable pickup time. If a Pod has only one passenger, the economics are different from a trip carrying three or four people.

Pod is currently on a waitlist

Shuttlers is currently taking sign ups from customers who want to use Pod. The company is adding the service at a time when Lagos commuters already have several ways to move around the city. Pod sits between the options. It is more personal than a regular bus because passengers get door-to-door pickup and drop off. It is cheaper than paying for a private ride if the car is shared. And unlike on-demand ride-hailing, the trip is booked and priced ahead of time. For Shuttlers, it is a new vehicle type built around a model the company has already been using for years: getting several people going in the same direction into one scheduled trip.