Easy Taxi has expanded its services to Hong Kong. The app functions include GPS navigation to confirm passengers’ location and real-time positioning of nearby vacant taxis.
After downloading it from Google Play and iTunes, passengers can use the app to call for a taxi. Their location is then pin-pointed through their phone GPS, and they can also add further information about their destination and pickup location. The app then sends the request to taxis nearby the pickup point. Once a driver accepts the ride, the details are sent to the passenger who can watch their taxi approach in real time on the map.
To ensure the driver actually picks up the passengers, the company will monitor the rides from the office. The company staff will also call the drivers to ensure they are indeed going to pick up the passenger. Waiting time depends on where the passenger requests a taxi, but is average five minutes.
In Hong Kong there are over 5,000 drivers signed up for the service. To ensure quality, during registration the driver’s name, address, taxi number, driver's license number, phone number, picture, and other relevant details are collected. Once a taxi has been booked, the information will be sent to the passenger’s phone so they can verify the assigned taxi and driver.
The app is available in over 20 countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and South Korea. Blake Larson, managing director of the company said, “Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea have some of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world. The people of the cities use their phones for everything and so they are a natural fit for adopting Easy Taxi as part of their daily regimen. But we also view many of the other countries in Asia as huge opportunities – Vietnam, The Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia, for example. People in these countries have a huge thirst for everything that is mobile, and growth rates of smartphone penetration are extremely promising. It’s important that we play a key role in helping transform the transportation industry as part of the technology revolution in those developing markets.”
In the near future, the company is planning to develop payment via the app for the entire taxi fare.
For more information, visit www.easytaxi.com/hk-en
Valerian Ho
