Gokada, the popular bike hailing startup, has stopped all mobility operations for the next two weeks. In a Medium post, CEO Fahim Saleh, announced that the Gokada app will be temporarily disabled and all bikers will be off the road during this period.
The Lagos State government is planning to introduce a N25 million license for bike hailing startups. With one road transport union mandating bike hailing riders to pay levies, the government license will stop this and allow startups to operate freely within the state.
Lagos is the biggest market for bike hailing in Nigeria. With its over 20 million residents (reportedly), Lagos is the first market of choice for all bike hailing startups in Nigeria. Yet, Lagos is one Nigerian state that has imposed tight controls over motorcycle transportation.
After raising the new funds, Max wants to expand into different markets and into new transport verticals, one of which would see the introduction of electric vehicles/motorbikes (EVs).