Easy Taxi launches premium limo service
Singapore
EASY Taxi on Monday launched Easy Taxi Premium in Singapore, joining rival taxi-booking platforms Uber and GrabTaxi in offering private hire limousines to commuters.
Its six and seven-seater limousines - private cars not marked as taxis - are offered in particular to commuters demanding more choices when they travel in groups for "family outings or business meetings", said the Rocket Internet-backed, Brazil-based company.
Vehicles used will include the Toyota Alphard, Toyota Vellfire and Mercedes Viano, BT has learnt.
Easy Taxi Premium will boost the supply of vehicles for hire especially during peak hours and weekends, and complement the current taxi fleet to provide more choices for commuters and more income for drivers, regional general manager Jianggan Li told BT.
"Based on market research, there is substantial demand here for private car hires," he added.
The base fare for Easy Taxi Premium is S$55, with every additional stop costing S$10 each. There is also a charge of S$10 per 15 minutes for additional waiting, an industry practice according to Mr Li.
Commuters can choose to pay by Easy Taxi's in-app payment system Easy Taxi Pay, which directly charges the fares to their credit or debit cards via their smartphones.
Singapore is reportedly the first country in the world to enjoy Easy Taxi Premium; it is also Easy Taxi's largest market in Asia in terms of total fare transacted, and its second largest globally (after Brazil) in terms of cashless transactions.
"We wanted to launch the product at the appropriate time. For us, this meant the adoption of Easy Taxi Pay, and the growth of Easy Taxi Corporate, our business and corporate solution. Our recently-concluded promotion with Visa has led to significant growth in adoption of cashless payment," said Mr Li.
Easy Taxi's latest launch on Monday, along with GrabTaxi's announcement last week of its S$100 million investment in an R&D centre in Singapore's Central Business District, and Uber's recent supercars for hire service, are believed to have rejuvenated an industry that has seen little activity here since January, just after the thick of the raging taxi-booking app wars last December.
Malaysia-based GrabTaxi launched GrabCar in July 2014, while San Francisco's Uber debuted its private hire car services here in February 2013. London-based Hailo, the latest taxi-booking app to ride into town in October 2014, does not offer private hire limousines at present.
"I think it's amazing that Singaporeans have embraced the mobile world so significantly when it comes to taxi booking to justify so many players. It makes me wonder what category is next when it comes to mobile bookings replacing physical bookings," said Patrick Grove, co-founder of new media investment firm Catcha Group.
"I think the (taxi-booking app) market will settle at two players eventually: a global player and a strong regional player," he added.
On Monday, Singapore's Ministry of Transport proposed a law in Parliament to regulate third party taxi-booking apps, based on a regulatory framework announced last November which will require companies to register with the Land Transport Authority and adhere to a set of regulatory guidelines.
