This article originally appeared on Vulcan Post.
Uber introduced its supercar hires last month, and now, Easy Taxi has responded with something bigger. The taxi booking app service has launched Easy Taxi Premium in Singapore, and with it comes a fleet of six- and seven-seater limousines.
Running from a base rate of $55, Easy Taxi Premium is a luxurious alternative to hiring two separate cabs or a van to ferry up to seven people. Advanced booking is recommended, and passengers are advised to do so at least 48 hours in advance via premium@easytaxi.com.sg.
“We are responding to consumers who demand for more choices when they travel in groups — for either family outings or business meetings,” said Jianggan Li, Regional Managing Director for Easy Taxi. “With Private Hire cars which are licensed and properly insured, we are expecting to meet more demand on Singapore’s roads.”
Easy Taxi Premium also makes use of its new payment system, Easy Taxi Pay, which takes a leaf from Uber’s book. With your credit and debit card details stored within the app, passengers will be billed via their smartphones, and make payment directly through the app.
During the product’s launch week, Easy Taxi offered $20 vouchers to passengers keen on testing the ride, and it was met with great response — more than 3000 users got a taste of riding in a limousine. And it’s no surprise: Singapore is Easy Taxi’s biggest market in Asia in terms of total fare transacted, and second globally in numbers of cashless transactions. Next, Easy Taxi says that they will be looking into integrating other payment methods, especially for tourists who are more comfortable with alternative options.
According to EasyTaxi, this is part of their strategy to become more innovative — a goal echoed by another popular taxi booking app, Grabtaxi, who just launched their first R&D centre here in Singapore. With all the taxi booking apps amping up their game to provide newer and better experiences for passengers, it’ll be interesting to see how much the scene can change.
After all, Easy Taxi has already offered us Unicorns, so what’s next?
