Yango (company) explained

Yango is a tech services ecosystem which provides multiple services, such as ride-hailing, delivery and e-grocery service, etc. Yango operates in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, and South America and available via a mobile app.

Yango is operated by Netherlands-based company Ridetech International B.V., formerly Yandex Taxi B.V, a subsidiary of Yandex N.V., the Netherlands-registered holding company for the Russian IT conglomerate Yandex LLC.[1] [2]

As of 2023, the service operates in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.

History

Yango's beta app was launched on October 4, 2018, at Abidjan (Ivory Coast) in French.[3] On November 9, 2018, it was launched in Finland.[4] In addition to Helsinki, as of December 2020 Yango operates in Tampere and Turku.[5]

Yango was officially launched in Israel on December 10, 2018.[6] The app was installed by 100,000 users there in the first two weeks.[7] The firm introduced a controversial new business model in the local taxi sector that offered passengers the exact price of rides known in advance.[8] This fixed-price feature has drawn scrutiny from the Israeli Ministry of Transportation because it may violate Israeli law, which mandates that cab drivers can only charge the price indicated by the meter.[9]

In March 2020, Yango announced that it would offer the option of working directly with the company to independent licensed taxi drivers, after previously working with drivers only through taxi companies.[10] Yango launched in Accra, Ghana in June 2019 with plans to expand to other parts of the country.[11] [12]

In July 2021, Yango launched in Oslo, Norway.[13] As of November 2021 the service has expanded and is available in Bergen.[14]

The service continued to expand in Africa and in November 2021 launched in Douala and Yaounde, Cameroon.[15]

In November 2021 street-hailing drivers of Côte d'Ivoire organized strikes against Yango blaming the company to be working with VTC drivers, which has been outside the scope of the current legislation in the country. This led to establishment of a working group on upgrading the transport law by the Ministry of Transport. Later the VTC concept had been introduced to the legislation, providing Yango and other ride-hailing services in the market with opportunity to obtain temporary licences.

In December 2021, Yango launched its app in Dakar, Senegal and opened a center for its partner-drivers in the city.[16]

In March 2022, Yango became available in Lusaka, Zambia.[17]

In 2022, the company closed express delivery services for groceries in Britain and France.

In 2023, the car rental service Drive Yango [18] [19] in Dubai went live.

As of July 2023, Yango offers services in the following countries: Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Belarus, Cameroon, Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Finland, Ghana, Georgia, Israel, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mozambique, Namibia, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Republic of the Congo, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Zambia.

Special features

Yango does not have its own cars or drivers, partnering instead with local transport companies and drivers. In countries where the company operates, its partners have opened dedicated driver centers.[20] [21]

Permissions controversy

Yango asks for permission to access certain phone features in order to tailor the user experience. In November 2018, Finland's largest national newspaper Helsingin Sanomat recommended not to download the app due to security risks from data collection.[22] Following an investigation, the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority found that Yango's terms of service were essentially the same as Uber's. Soon after, Helsingin Sanomat published a follow-up article comparing permission rights requested by various taxi applications; it placed Yango second after Uber.[23]

The taxi activities are prohibited in Estonia and Latvia.[24] In August 2023 the Norwegian and Finnish data privacy authorities told Yango to stop processing data about their citizens in Russia, after the Russian government introduced a legal duty for the company to deliver personal information to the Russian Federal Security Service.[25]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Opencorporates Yango . 2 May 2023 . opencorporates.com.
  2. Web site: Yango Privacy Policy . 2 May 2023 . yango.com . en.
  3. Web site: Publi-reportage/ Côte d'Ivoire : Lancement à Abidjan d'un service international de commande de taxi via l'application mobile Yango. Abidjan.net. 2020-01-13.
  4. Web site: 2019-01-31 . Tech giant Yandex veers into Finnish market disrupting the taxi business with smart mobility service Yango . 2022-06-10 . Helsinki Business Hub . en-US.
  5. Web site: 2020-12-17. Talous Venäläisen Yandexin kyytipalvelu Yango laajentaa toimintaansa Suomessa Tampereelle ja Turkuun. 2021-01-26. Helsingin Sanomat. fi.
  6. News: Yango challenging Gett in Israel's taxi app market. 2019-11-14. Globes. he. 2020-01-21.
  7. Web site: Gett CEO Preparing Employees For IPO. Orbach. Meir. 2019-03-06. CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. 2020-01-15.
  8. Web site: אפליקציית המוניות יאנגו השיקה שירות חדשני: הנוסע יודע את מחיר הנסיעה מראש [Taxi app Yango has launched innovative service: the traveler knows the fare in advance]]. כפיר. -דפנה הראל. 2019-05-22. פואנטה. he-IL. 2020-01-22.
  9. Web site: Israel's Transportation Ministry Goes After Taxi-Hailing Company Yango. Hadar. Udi Etsion and Tomer. 2019-07-04. CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. 2020-01-21.
  10. Web site: Orbach. Meir. 2020-03-12. Yandex's Yango Now Welcomes Independent Taxi Drivers. 2020-12-15. CTECH - www.calcalistech.com.
  11. Web site: Yango taxi app launched in Ghana . 2020-01-15 . BusinessGhana. 7 June 2019 .
  12. Web site: Yandex launch Yango Taxi App in Ghana. 2019-06-07. ANONYMOUS GHANA. en-US. 2020-01-15.
  13. Web site: Svendsen . Helle Lyng . 2021-07-23 . Yango lanserer taxitjeneste i Norge: Vil konkurrere på pris . 2022-06-08 . Nettavisen . no.
  14. Web site: Mostad . Magnhild Synnøve . 2021-11-04 . (+) Ny aktør satser i Bergen. Samtidig er taxireformens fremtid usikker . 2022-06-08 . Bergensavisen . no.
  15. Web site: Economie . Investir au Cameroun Télécom, Banque, Energie, Com, Média, Droit, Assurances, Gestion publique, Tourisme . Mobilité : après Douala, Yango, service en ligne de covoiturage, lance ses activités à Yaoundé . 2022-06-10 . Investir au Cameroun . fr-fr.
  16. Web site: 2021-12-10 . Transport : Yango, le taxi en ligne débarque au Sénégal Socialnetlink . 2022-06-10 . Actualités technologiques et startup au Sénégal et en Afrique . fr-FR.
  17. Web site: Newsroom . Q. FM . 2022-04-03 . Yango partners with over 1, 000 vehicles in Zambia- Adebayo . 2022-06-10 . Q FM . en-US.
  18. https://drive.yango.com
  19. https://www.biznesstransform.com/ride-hailing-service-yango-launches-in-dubai-with-comfort-and-premier-service-offerings/
  20. Web site: Ride-hailing app Yango launches in Bucharest. 2019-06-27. Business Review. ro. 2020-01-15.
  21. Web site: אפליקציית המוניות יאנגו השיקה שירות חדשני: הנוסע יודע את מחיר הנסיעה מראש [Taxi app Yango has launched innovative service: the traveler knows the fare in advance]]. כפיר. -דפנה הראל. 2019-05-22. פואנטה. he-IL. 2020-01-22.
  22. Web site: 2018-11-11 . Helsingissä toimintansa aloittanut venäläinen taksipalvelu voi saada kuvasi ja tietoja SIM-kortistasi . 2020-01-15 . Helsingin Sanomat . fi.
  23. Web site: Taksi Helsinki haluaa oikeuden käyttäjänsä kalenteriin ja lähettää sähköpostia – HS vertaili eri taksisovellusten tietoturvaa, tämä kannattaa tietää ennen kuin annat sovelluksille luvan [Taxi in Helsinki wants the right to the user's calendar and email - HS compares the security of different taxi applications, this is worth knowing before allowing your apps]]. 2018-11-22. Helsingin Sanomat. fi. 2020-01-15.
  24. https://pvmagazine.nl/yandex-nv-wil-zonder-russische-activiteiten-verder-vanuit-nederland-taxidienst-yango-verboden-in-estland-en-letland/ Yandex NV wil zonder Russische activiteiten verder vanuit Nederland; taxidienst Yango verboden in Estland en Letland
  25. Web site: Datatilsynet: – Taxiteneste overfører personopplysningar om norske innbyggjarar til Russland [Data Protection Authority: - Taxi service transfers personal information about Norwegian residents to Russia]]. 2023-08-08. NRK. no. 2023-08-08.