Monika Amunyela 

Designed as a community-based transport and school shuttle service, Londa Rides provide safe, affordable, and reliable transportation for students and young commuters in Namibia. What first started as a project in Rachel Lazarus’ Design thinking class, quickly transformed into a real-world solution tackling student mobility. 

The inspiration behind Londa Rides is deeply personal and closely tied to challenges Lazarus faced, she recalls how unreliable transport affected students daily, including herself. 

“Students, including me would always struggle to get to school on time due to unreliable taxis, high transport costs, and safety concerns,” she says. 

She quickly realised that transport is not just a logistics issue, it is an education access issue, a realisation shaped during her time as a first-year computer science student at NUST in 2023. Londa Rides focuses intentionally on structure, trust, and consistency. Unlike traditional taxis, the service is subscription-based meaning one would not have to pay every day, it is route planned, and student focused. 

“Parents know the driver, the route, and the vehicle every single day,” Lazarus states. 

The company is also developing an app that will allow parents to track trips and students to request rides at fixed prices, further strengthening accountability and transparency.

According to Lazarus, Londa Rides is already making an impact. The service currently transports over 30 families in Windhoek and has 15 active drivers and is still receiving interest from more than 200 parents. As a long-term goal Lazarus hopes the initiative will ease financial pressure, improve punctuality, and support school retention.  “Ultimately, we want transport to stop being a barrier to education,” she said. 

Safety and routine are central to how Londa Rides serves students. The service offers fixed pick up times, monthly pricing, and permanent school routes, supported by strict safety measures. 

“Our goal is for parents to know exactly who is transporting their child,” said Lazarus.   

All drivers have been carefully vetted, all car registered for the services, there are emergency protocols set in place, in case of any emergency and QR code vehicle identification as key safeguards. –mamunyela@nepc.com.na