The Problem with Fixed Fares
Traditional taxi apps use fixed per-kilometre rates, which creates a predictable problem: when it rains in Nairobi, demand spikes by 400% but supply stays the same. Every driver is already booked. Riders wait 40 minutes or give up.
Surge pricing was invented to solve this. It raises fares during peak demand, which does two things simultaneously: it signals drivers to come online, and it reduces demand by pricing out riders who don't urgently need a car.
How Zuma's AI Surge Engine Works
Every 90 seconds, the Zuma AI engine evaluates: (1) the number of active drivers within 5km of each demand cluster, (2) the number of pending ride requests in the same area, and (3) historical patterns for that time, day, and location. From those three inputs, it computes a surge multiplier from 1.0x (no surge) to 2.5x (maximum surge).
The formula is simple: if supply ÷ demand drops below 0.6, surge kicks in. We cap it at 2.5x because beyond that, riders switch to alternatives and the problem becomes self-correcting anyway.
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