Nigeria’s mobility startup, Treepz has announced a partnership deal with CMS Taxi and Motor Nigeria Limited (CMS T&M), a Lagos-based bus company. This is coming weeks after raising a $2.8million seed fund and acquiring Ugabus, a Ugandan bus company.
The partnership deal would provide passengers of the CMS T&M access to convenient payment options and predictable travel times using Treepz technology.
Per TechNext, the announcement was made via a press statement by Treepz, revealing that the move in partnering with CMS T&M was in line with its mission to provide commuters with convenient and affordable means of transportation within Lagos and by extension, cities in Africa.
Furthermore, the technological assistance provided by Treepz would allow the management of CMS T&M digitise ticketing as well as provide a more transparent working system for bus operators across Lagos.
CMS T&M was established in 1968 as a Taxi Drivers Friendship Association, licensed to shuttle as a bus company that operates in the Central Business District of Lagos including Marina, Lagos Island, Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Lekki areas of Lagos State, with high-capacity buses and minivans.
Having over 1.2 million passengers annually, CMS T&M provides conducive vehicles that ease the daily commute of workers, students, and traders within the city. It comprises of 7 cooperative associations with each association contributing a member to the Board of Directors.
Speaking on the partnership, Mr Onyeka Akumah, CEO & Co-Founder Treepz said that he was particularly excited about the opportunity, noting that the partnership would kickstart the digitalisation of transport systems in Nigeria.
“I am particularly excited about the opportunity for this foremost transportation company to use Treepz technology to move away from cash-based payments, paper ticketing and the general issues that come with this old way of buying bus tickets.
CMS T&M will now move into the digital era with different ways for their 1.2 million annual customers to purchase their travel tickets while providing transparency and an efficient way to manage their operations with our technology.
This will greatly improve the experience of daily commuters in Lagos and kick-start the digitalization of transportation systems across Nigeria”, Mr. Akumah said.
Responding to the partnership on behalf of the CMS T&M Company, Andrew Akhigbe, Managing Director of CMS T&M said that his team is pleased about the recent partnership with Treepz and can’t wait to power their CMS bus park using world-class technology with benefits occurring to both partners and commuters.
He further added that been a business of over 53 years, one of the company’s goals is to drive a transparent operation system and with Treepz, it can be achieved.
With operations in Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria, Treepz has introduced the Transportation Operator System to provide Bus Parks and Bus Operators with the necessary technology to digitise their services while increasing their customer base and managing their revenue.
As many stakeholders in the transportation space are considering moving away from paper ticketing, cash-based transactions to understanding their customer inventory, Treepz is positioning to provide them with the technology that will allow them to attain this.
According to its statement, Treepz has an existing partnership with over 12 bus operators. These include “GUO Transport, Libra Motors, EFEX Transport Service, ABC Transport, Anambra Executive and a list of other intercity transporters with a combined 1,500 vehicles in their fleet.”
Treepz also provides bus hiring services to schools, bus hire services to corporations for their staff buses and provides technology to state governments to power their state transport systems.
