Nigeria’s Traffic Butter, a platform that provides updates on traffic and roads, has announced the official launch of its mobile app to tap the “huge and untapped” online traffic services sector in the country.
Uche Okafor, Founder of Traffic Butter, sees the mobile app launch as the “logical next step” for the platform that allows drivers to connect with each other.
The connection among driver allows them share real-time traffic and road information to help save fuel, time and stress on daily journeys.
Okafor also said the app allowed the company to build out some of the more useful features it observed people desired and are easy to use.
“It is pretty simple. It allows viewing of updates, submission of updates, viewing of one’s current location, and chat. We leveraged the intuitive design of smart phones these days,” he said about the app which is available for users of BlackBerry, Android and iOS devices.
“It is very huge and largely untapped especially in Lagos which has a population of over 21 million people. We hope the app can help us reach a lot more people,” he said.
Plans are underway to launch the service in other West African nations, with Okafor saying the platform is not scared of international companies that may develop an interest in the sector.
“As we’ve seen in several cases, foreign solutions do not always address local problems adequately. We’ll be ready when they come,” he said.
The trained economist said he started Traffic Butter in 2010 out of his dislike for the traffic situation in Lagos.
“It started in 2010; borne out of my dislike for traffic to and from Victoria Island every day, and my desire to do something about it,” he said.
The platform now has more than 62,000 followers on Twitter from where it is offering updates on traffic and security situations in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria.
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