With the impending exit of big e-hailing and ride-sharing player Uber from Southeast Asia, Grab is set to be the de facto provider on Malaysian roads.
Uber’s exit leaves room for other players to come in. Sure, it’s a highly competitive segment that’s seen major players subsidise rides and constantly throw in discounts, but consumers want choice.
For the good part of the month, Uber drivers have been mentioning a new ride-sharing service that’s been gaining interest amongst driver folk.
The general sentiment is that drivers do not want a single entity to monopolise the segment.
Customers on the other hand are concerned that rates will increase and drop in level of service due to lack of competition.
These are all valid concerns, and so the launch of MyCar today may be exactly what driver partners and consumers need to keep Grab “in check.”
MyCar, developed by Platform Apps Sdn Bhd (Qup World Inc in the App Store) aims to balance the scales, so to speak, aside from providing a platform for drivers to generate income.
According to its founder, Mohd Noah Maideen, the app started operating on Feb 1.
“In addition, it helps balance the e-hailing industry in Malaysia, thereby creating healthy competition in providing the best service to customers,” he told reporters here today.
He said that the new platform will give Uber drivers an alternative to joining Grab.
With Grab acquiring Uber’s operations in Southeast Asia and thus merging both services, Grab has opened its doors to Uber drivers to join its platform.
So far, there are about 57,000 drivers registered with MyCar since it started operating in February, with 10% comprising women.
Mohd Noah said the response had been encouraging in the last two months, with 5,000 passengers having used the service in the Klang Valley.
The MyCar app is available for download for free for Android and iOS.
The app is equipped with an SOS button as added security for passengers and drivers.
Personally, I’ve downloaded the app to my iPhone but have encountered problems with registration. SMS authentication seems to not work, and therefore I’m unable to complete registration for the service. Teething problems perhaps, but I hope MyCar gets this sorted soonest.
Source: The Sun Daily
