The transport industry is competitive but MD of City Link Cabs, Lwazi Norman Ngubane, is working hard to make sure his company has an edge.

Formerly a minibus taxi driver, Ngubane realised the potential for private shuttle services and officially started operating City Link Cabs in 2015.

He told Tourism Update that the company was started with the aim of providing a professional service with a focus on accountability.

“Our prices are stable and considerate,” adding that this was what set City Link Cabs apart from others.

“It was a really dramatic move. I wanted to move along with the professional tourism associations and attend the tourism networking forums.” Ngubane detailed the efforts to which he has gone to ensure his company provides a regulated service, including enrolling himself in courses for marketing management and customer care.

Customer service is of huge importance to Ngubane, who said drivers were hand-selected and went through outsourced customer service training to ensure that the quality of the experience customers received was top-notch.

It is a personal highlight for him when clients return to use the shuttle service a second time. “It’s a good moment for me; it says that I am actually on the right track.”

With seven drivers in its fleet and plans to expand its office staff, the company has seen great growth since 2015. Ngubane said the number of drivers was kept small to ensure the quality of each service provided. “When we are held liable, we must be able to track down the accountable party,” he said, explaining how this became difficult with a larger group of drivers.

Like any other business in the hospitality industry, City Link Cabs has been affected by COVID-19. “We need to comply with government regulations,” he said, noting that for the period of the lockdown the services were not running. “We cannot blame ourselves for these losses.”

Looking to the future, Ngubane hopes to expand the company’s provincial shuttle services by the end of the year. Currently, a shuttle runs from OR Tambo to the Kruger National Park, but City Link Cabs is hoping to expand this service across all the provinces.

“We grow from the grassroots,” said Ngubane. “You will never become a giant without starting at the grassroots level.”