Calling a taxi has always been a nightmare in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: operators that did not understand my english, drivers that couldn’t find the address or got lost on the way, negotiation with those that do not want to use their taxi meter… Last time I went friends made me discover a mobile app, “MyTeksi”.
It is actually a pair of apps: one for clients, one for drivers. Both figure out the location of the devices, and you can book a taxi instantly, as well as see whether available taxis are around on the map. The economic model is that the drivers pay a small sum of money (less than 50 cents USD) for each successful booking, while the client pay the normal additional booking fee to the driver, who commits to use the taximeter. The app gives you the name of the driver, tracks the actual journey, and send you a summary email, which is a great selling point for lone women’s safety.
The feature I like particularly is the possibility to add a “tip” if you can’t get a taxi in the midst of peak hour (or raining). You can actually raise the stakes live until you get a taxi happy to pick you up! Real time bargaining in action!
This app business model is completely disruptive, by-passing the traditional centralized taxi booking systems and companies. It is based on the widespread availability of smart-phones even for taxi-drivers. Actually, it was brainstormed as part of a Harvard MBA homework business case by two Malaysian students (here is a good link to the story). In addition, the interface is simple and very well thought.
The app is now spreading to neighbouring countries, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. It will be interesting to see how successful it will be in developing countries, and not just in emerging countries.
What I find particularly interesting is that it pushes back the decision to the drivers instead of the centralized taxi booking system, leaving them with the choice to adhere to the system or not, or even to have several booking systems working for them.
Once again, the Fourth Revolution gets rid of centralized institutions. It also shows how widespread smartphones are (would all taxi drivers have one in developed countries? really?). Expect to see many more ground-breaking mobile applications coming up that will shake established business models!
