Business travellers visiting major cities in Asia-Pacific can now book English-speaking, commercially licensed and insured drivers through professional driver service Blacklane.
The Berlin-based company, which currently serves more than 250 cities, 500 airports and 50 countries, has expanded its network to 64 new cities in 12 countries in Asia-Pacific, including 24 in mainland China. The firm will also open a regional office in Singapore next month as part of the expansion.
Blacklane’s expansion comes as the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) forecasts the number of inbound visitors to Asia-Pacific will reach 657 million in 2020.
“International visitors are flocking to the region while its booming middle class is exploring the world,” said Jens Wohltorf, the company’s CEO and co-founder. “Therefore, more and more travellers desire a single trusted driver service for their global travel. A familiar and professional experience gives passengers and corporate travel managers peace of mind around the world.”
In addition to the Asia-Pacific expansion, Blacklane now also partners with Asia Miles, enabling members to earn miles on rides at a rate of 2 Asia Miles to US$1.
Blacklane is now available in the following Asia-Pacific cities:
Australia: Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast and Hobart.
China: Beijing, Changchun, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Kunming, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao, Sanya, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Wuxi, Xiamen and Xi’an.
India: Ahmedabad, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Pune and Surat.
Indonesia: Denpasar (Bali), Jakarta, Surabaya and Yogyakarta.
Japan: Fukuoka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka and Sapporo.
Malaysia: Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Senai.
New Zealand: Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington.
The Philippines: Cebu and Manila.
Sri Lanka: Colombo.
Taiwan: Kaohsiung, Taichung and Tainan.
Thailand: Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Krabi, Pattaya and Phuket.
Vietnam: Da Nang and Hue.
