Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern use of the RYDZ website at https://rydzmw.com (opens in a new tab), RYDZ-branded mobile applications, customer support channels, ride-booking functionality and, where enabled, bus and minibus ticketing. The platform is provided by RYDZ Technologies Limited, Grevillia Avenue, Blantyre, Malawi ("RYDZ", "we", "us"). Contact: support@rydzmw.com; telephone and WhatsApp +265 222 247 247. Company details are set out in our Legal Notice.

RYDZ provides a technology platform to request and arrange transportation with participating, independently operated drivers ("Captains") and, where available, to discover, reserve and buy tickets for services run by participating transport operators ("Operators"). Unless we expressly identify RYDZ as the licensed carrier for a particular journey, the driver or Operator, not RYDZ, physically provides the transport. Booking facilitation does not eliminate RYDZ's own legal obligations, duties relating to its technology and payments, or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Features vary by city, application version, route and partner readiness. A pilot, waitlist, estimate or search result is not a guarantee of availability. These Terms concern rides and tickets only; they do not create terms for future delivery, rentals or marketplace products.

These Terms apply with the Privacy Policy, Rider Terms, Ticket Booking Terms, Payments and Wallet Policy, Ride Cancellation and Refund Policy, Ticket Cancellation and Refund Policy, Safety Standards and any specific booking conditions clearly displayed before confirmation. Captains and Operators are also subject to separately accepted partner agreements. For a specific booking, applicable mandatory law prevails; then the transaction-specific conditions disclosed before purchase; then the service-specific terms; then these general Terms. No agreement with a driver or Operator may remove non-waivable consumer rights.

You must have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms. Persons who are under 18 may not independently operate a Captain account and must not independently create a payment-bearing rider account; a parent or lawful guardian may arrange travel for a minor where lawful and where the carrier's safeguarding rules allow it. A person booking on another passenger's behalf must have authority to provide relevant information and must tell the passenger about material journey conditions. See Children and Minors Policy.

Supply accurate identity and contact information; maintain a functioning phone number; safeguard verification codes; do not create fraudulent or misleading accounts or impersonate another user. RYDZ may require age, identity, payment or eligibility verification proportionate to the service and applicable law. Tell support promptly if your account or device is compromised.

Rides: a quote or estimate is indicative until a booking request is accepted. A ride is arranged when the platform confirms Captain acceptance or other express confirmation. An automatically displayed match does not guarantee the Captain will arrive. Tickets: an itinerary/search result is not a ticket. A ticket booking is confirmed only once payment/booking requirements are satisfied and a booking reference or other valid travel credential is issued. The carrier identified at checkout is the transportation provider.

Before making a binding purchase, the platform should display the service, origin and destination, route or pickup location, date/time where applicable, passenger/seat details, itemized fare, commissions or platform/service fees charged to the customer, taxes, material restrictions, cancellation/refund conditions and payment method; users must be able to review and correct mistakes. An electronic confirmation and receipt should be made available and retained for future access. No hidden charges may be added after acceptance except clearly authorized lawful adjustments.

Ride prices may depend on base fare, distance, duration, demand, category, authorized waiting or toll charges, and expressly selected options. Where the in-app fare-offer feature is used (a rider proposes a fare and Captains respond with offers), only the final accepted and recorded fare applies, subject to lawful and disclosed additions. Changes requested during a trip may trigger a recalculated fare; the rider must receive a meaningful opportunity to approve material increases. The app's estimates, live maps and estimated arrival times can be wrong due to congestion, weather, mobile-network issues, road closures and mapping errors.

A ticket price may comprise the Operator's transport fare plus a separately disclosed RYDZ service or processing fee, taxes and lawful add-ons. Different tickets, services, departure times and operators can carry different rules. Currency is ordinarily Malawian kwacha (MWK) unless expressly indicated otherwise.

Pay using only methods actually offered at checkout. Rides can currently be paid in cash or from your RYDZ Wallet. The RYDZ Wallet can be topped up with Airtel Money or TNM Mpamba. Tickets, where available, can be paid from the RYDZ Wallet or with Airtel Money or TNM Mpamba; cash is not accepted for tickets bought in the app. Cards are not currently accepted for any RYDZ payment. A displayed option does not mean every method is enabled for every booking. The wallet is governed by the Payments and Wallet Policy. Do not send money to a driver's personal account or third-party number as a substitute for an approved RYDZ checkout instruction. Contact support if you detect duplicate charges or missing credits.

Ride cancellations, no-shows and breakdowns are handled under the Ride Cancellation and Refund Policy. Bus and minibus ticket cancellations, missed departures, operator changes and disruptions are handled under the Ticket Cancellation and Refund Policy. Fees must be clearly shown before they apply and may not override applicable statutory withdrawal or refund rights. RYDZ will not describe a charge as non-refundable where the law requires reimbursement.

Do not abuse, threaten, stalk, harass or discriminate against drivers, riders, staff or other passengers; carry prohibited goods; falsify travel or identity details; evade fare payment; arrange fraudulent tickets; misuse booking or cancellation systems; circumvent security; interfere with another user's location or account; or engage in conduct that puts people in danger. Follow lawful directions concerning seatbelts, vehicle capacity, baggage, pick-up safety and appropriate conduct. Further rules are in the Acceptable Use Policy and Safety Standards.

You may submit feedback or reviews about a genuine service experience. Be truthful and avoid revealing another person's private information, hate speech, threats or false allegations. We may moderate material for safety, law and platform integrity; moderation does not guarantee every posting is reviewed. We may use a limited, non-exclusive licence to host and display submissions as needed for the service while respecting your rights and our Privacy Policy. Phone calls, chat and notifications may pass through third-party communications providers; recording, if any, requires appropriate notices and lawful grounds.

Captains and Operators must comply with applicable transport, roadworthiness, licensing, insurance and public-safety requirements. Verification reduces risk but is not a guarantee of individual conduct or journey safety. In an emergency, seek assistance from local police, ambulance or emergency services first and use RYDZ's available reporting tools when safe. Do not rely on the app as the only means of getting help. Report accidents, assaults, unsafe driving, suspected exploitation and urgent safety concerns as soon as practicable.

RYDZ may temporarily restrict a booking, payout, user or partner account where reasonably necessary to prevent fraud, protect safety, investigate serious complaints, comply with law or address repeated breaches. Except where immediate action is needed, we will provide meaningful notice, the reason in general terms and an opportunity to challenge the action. We will not confiscate customer funds without lawful grounds; legitimate refund, payout and personal-data rights survive account closure. You may stop using the service and request account deletion subject to lawful retention needs.

We process account, location, booking, verification, payment and safety-related data in the circumstances and for the purposes in the Privacy Policy, with more detailed information about retention and requests in the Data Rights and Account Deletion Policy. We will not rely on a blanket acceptance of these Terms as a replacement for consent where the law requires separate, specific consent.

The RYDZ name, interfaces, platform technology, marks and original materials are owned by RYDZ or its licensors. You receive a limited, revocable, personal licence to use the service for lawful booking and transportation-related activity; no source-code ownership is transferred. You may not scrape private records, copy or sell application data, reverse engineer except where law permits, or create deceptive RYDZ-branded services. See Intellectual Property and Notices.

A service may be unavailable because of network failure, maintenance, traffic, device failure, public emergencies, driver unavailability, route closures or operator disruption. We may improve, discontinue or restrict features with appropriate notice. Where an accepted booking cannot be fulfilled, the applicable rebooking and refund rights continue to apply. We do not promise uninterrupted access, a specified driver, a fixed arrival time, or universal ticket availability.

Each party is responsible for its own acts and obligations under law. RYDZ remains responsible for losses resulting from its own negligence, fraud, misrepresentation, breach of statutory duty or contractual obligations to the extent established under applicable law. No clause excludes liability for death or personal injury where exclusion is prohibited, fraud, grossly unlawful conduct, mandatory consumer remedies or other liability that cannot be limited by law. For other claims, the extent of responsibility will be assessed under the parties' actual role, causation, applicable law and the circumstances; there is no blanket waiver of claims for safety incidents.

Send booking, payment, privacy or safety complaints through the in-app support channel where available, to support@rydzmw.com, or by phone or WhatsApp on +265 222 247 247, with relevant details, but do not send full ID documents or sensitive payment credentials by ordinary email unless specifically and securely requested. We will acknowledge and review complaints in a reasonable time; urgent safety matters are prioritized. If unresolved, you may approach a competent Malawi regulator, the Data Protection Authority for privacy matters, or a court with jurisdiction. We do not impose mandatory private arbitration or a waiver of statutory rights. Malawi law governs subject to any overriding mandatory law. See Complaints and Dispute Resolution.

Material changes will be dated and communicated appropriately before they take effect; changes will not retroactively remove rights attached to earlier purchases. The prior version should remain accessible on request. These Terms replace the RYDZ Terms and Conditions dated 12/03/2025 that were previously published on this website. These Terms are intended for use together with the legal pages linked above. For questions: support@rydzmw.com, https://rydzmw.com (opens in a new tab).