Book Mwasalat taxis without the mobile app

Source: Mwasalat. Taxi Butler devices will offer taxi booking
services.

Mwasalat has launched kiosks for booking taxis called Taxi Butlers. This is part of the public transport company's efforts to develop the taxi sector in Oman.

Taxi Butlers will enable taxis to be booked in advance, eliminating the need to contact taxi drivers individually, as is now the case. More than one taxi may be requested, and users can receive status updates of expected arrival times, driver details and alerts when the vehicle has arrived at the requested location.

Mwasalat taxis have handled some 150,000 trips, averaging more than 700 trips per day. The mobile app has nearly 40 thousand registered users to date.

Explore:

Taxi Butlers have been installed in phase one at Al Qurum, and Al Mouj Golf Club, and Muscat Hills. In later phases, the devices will be installed at government and private institutions and business centres in proportion to demand.

Malaysia to enjoy eatigo dining discounts

Source: eatigo. From left: Michael Cluzel, Co-founder & CEO of eatigo International and Pumin Yuvacharuskul (Louis), Co-founder & CEO Thailand of eatigo International at the launch of eatigo Malaysia.

The Southeast Asian restaurant reservation platform eatigo is now officially available to users in Malaysia. The platform enables users to make reservations at more than 1,000 restaurants on the eatigo app. Users also get to enjoy 50% off at selected timeslots.

Whether it is dinner at TEMPTations, Renaissance Hotel, or something more casual at TGI Fridays, eatigo has discounts at any time, any day. There is no need to pay up front or use a credit card - users ony need to make a reservation on eatigo to enjoy reduced prices on their meals.

Michael Cluzel, eatigo co-founder and CEO said, “After great success in both Thailand and Singapore, where we’ve seated over 4 million diners since our inception, we’re excited to continue extending eatigo’s reach in Southeast Asia."

The dining reservation platform is currently available in Bangkok, Pattaya, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, and more Southeast Asian destinations are planned.

Supported by investor, TripAdvisor, the platform currently boasts over 1 million installs across the region since its inception.

“Eatigo is always looking to add more quality dining places to the list, and we believe having a good mix of affordable and upscale options, in addition to the wide variety of cuisines on offer, will keep users coming back to the app for more,” said Cluzel.

posted from Bloggeroid

In Dubai, Makani numbers help taxi drivers reach customers

Source: RTA. Cabs in Dubai are now linked to Dubai city via Makani.

The Dubai RTA’s Public Transport Agency has completed linking 4,500 taxis from franchise companies operating under the RTA with the Dubai Municipality's Makani System. The system uses unique coordinates, or Makani numbers, to locate buildings.

Adel Shakri, Director of Transportation Systems, RTA’s Public Transport Agency, said: “Thanks to the sharp accuracy and the easy use of the Makani System as well as its 100% coverage of (the) Dubai Emirate, the system has played a vital role in executing booking and despatch orders by cab drivers. It has made it easy for clients to reach to their intended destinations in Dubai, thanks to its highly accurate positioning feature using interactive e-maps."

Benefits of the new arrangement include being able to make a taxi booking with a Makani number through a call to the Booking & Dispatch Center. The Booking & Dispatch Center can now communicate between the customer and the taxi, receiving booking requests and forwarding them to taxi drivers.

“This initiative brings back multiple benefits to RTA’s Booking & Dispatch System. It facilitates the dispatch of taxicabs to clients using Makani number, and eases the booking process for customers by just citing Makani number. It also reduces the number of complaints related to taxis and cab drivers such as the late arrival, and the poor knowledge of Dubai geographical zones on the part of drivers,” Shakri noted.

“The coverage of (the) Makani System of Dubai Municipality spans the entire Emirate of Dubai. About 137,000 addresses have been registered in the Booking & Dispatch System of taxis and 4,500 taxi cabs have been linked to the system.”

Book salons through Vaniday

Source: Vaniday. Vaniday has been launched in Singapore.

Vaniday has been launched in Singapore, its first Southeast Asian market. The company, which has a marketplace for beauty and wellness services, recently raised €15 million in its first financing round to further pursue its expansion.

Vaniday aims to revolutionise the process of choosing, booking and experiencing the world of beauty and wellness. The app and website allow the customers to navigate through a wide variety of salons and book a treatment directly off the salon’s calendar. Vaniday launches with over 500 salons already live, including Kim Robinson, Action Hair or The Comb.

“We wanted to create an experience that allows customers to book services based on their individual needs and have treatments booked in a matter of clicks,” says Global Founder and CEO, Maxime Legardez. Singapore is very engaged in mobile technology and with 85% of users, reports the highest smartphone penetration in the world. “As there is virtually an app for every single need and desire of the customer, we aim to fulfill the customer’s needs in the beauty and wellness market. Our goal is to create the best possible experience for our customers.”

Vaniday ​ allows customers to find the closest salons in their area offering the service they are looking for. The beauty marketplace provides detailed salon descriptions and images as well as insights to the services offered. Reviews allow for transparent and unbiased feedback from previous clients.

“Through our fully integrated booking system, salons can offer direct online bookings, automatic appointment reminders and also use our integrated CRM tools to keep customers engaged. This has been requested by salons for a very long time and we are extremely glad to bring everything together at no cost for the salon.” says Co-founder & Managing Director Singapore, Robinson Blanckaert.

Vaniday ​is b​acked by Rocket Internet, which has already built other successful companies in the Southeast Asian market such as Lazada and Foodpanda.​ Vaniday​ launched its first market in Brazil in March 2015 and is now available in the UAE and Australia among other countries.

Interested?

Download Vaniday at the App store or on Google Play

Didi Kuaidi, GrabTaxi, Lyft and Ola users can use their apps in other countries now

Roaming was once only available for phone services. Then it came to cash withdrawals through the ATM. And now private transport-booking goes global with a Star Alliance-like partnership between booking apps that were previously region-bound.

Didi Kuaidi, GrabTaxi, Lyft and Ola have announced additional strategic partnerships that expand the global rideshare agreement that Lyft and Didi Kuaidi formed in September. Together, these companies now cover nearly all of Southeast Asia, India, China and the US, reaching nearly 50% of the world’s population. Joint partner products will start rolling out in Q116.

Through this global partnership, the companies will collaborate and leverage each other’s technology, local market knowledge and business resources so that international travellers can seamlessly access local on-demand rides by using the same application they use at home. Each company will handle mapping, routing and payments through a secure API, providing a global experience for their customers.

As the local leaders, Didi Kuaidi, GrabTaxi and Ola will provide Lyft passengers traveling to Asia with ease, convenience, and reliability. Each company saw rapid growth in 2015:

 Didi Kuaidi is the world’s largest one-stop mobile-based transportation platform, providing 7 million rides per day across 360 Chinese cities. Didi Kuaidi holds an 83% market share in private car-hailing and a dominant position in all other verticals including taxi-hailing, bus and corporate services.

 GrabTaxi is the leading ride-hailing platform in Southeast Asia with 95% market share in third-party taxi-hailing and more than 50% market share in private cars. With up to 1.5 million daily bookings across six countries, GrabTaxi offers a wide range of options in one mobile app, including taxis, motorcycle taxis, private cars, carpooling and deliveries. (Editor's note: It has also recently received some positive reviews from friends.)

 Lyft is the fastest-growing rideshare service in the US, completing 7 million rides per month in more than 190 cities. In October, Lyft reached an annual gross run rate of US$1 billion and reached over 40% percent market share in San Francisco, California and Austin, Texas.

 Ola is India’s preferred mobile platform for personal transportation, available in 102 cities across the country. With more than 350,000 vehicles registered on its platform, Ola receives over a million booking requests a day.

“As Didi consolidates market leadership across all main verticals, we are now focused on applying more refined big-data tools to further develop product innovation and enhance the user experience,” said Cheng Wei, CEO of Didi Kuaidi. “The partnership with Lyft, GrabTaxi and Ola allows Chinese users unprecedented ease of international travel, and helps each of us improve our own services, leveraging our collective technology and expertise. This is a win for the diversity and vitality of the global rideshare industry.”

“We are pleased to help Didi, Lyft and Ola offer transportation services in Southeast Asia where the significant diversity of language, culture and social practices across the region can be challenging for foreign companies to navigate,” said Anthony Tan, CEO of GrabTaxi. “We admire all three companies and have similar goals to improve the lives of drivers and passengers, while also helping to solve major transportation challenges for the long term. Under this umbrella, we see many opportunities to share ideas and best practices – from product innovations to driver support, technology developments and approaches for managing local operations in a rapidly-scaling organisation.”

“We’re excited to join with Didi, Grab and Ola to make global travel simpler for passengers. Together they will allow Lyft to offer the world’s best coverage, while building upon our shared vision of reconnecting communities through better transportation,” said Lyft co-founder and President John Zimmer. “This isn’t solely a partnership of four companies, but also an opportunity to have a greater impact on the future of our cities worldwide.”

“We are excited to partner with Lyft, Didi Kuaidi and GrabTaxi, allowing seamless mobility access across hundreds of cities globally for our combined user base that runs into hundreds of millions,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of Ola. “This will also allow all four companies to learn from each other’s local innovations and successes that can help us in our shared mission to build better mobility solutions in our respective markets.”

Pay for Careem rides with an SMS to Ooredoo in Qatar

Ooredoo has partnered with Careem, the app-based car service, to customers’ travel needs across Qatar.

Careem enables customers to book and pay for a taxi in advance, fixing the journey’s cost and letting users to book on the web, via a mobile app, or by calling a dedicated hotline.

The partnership is the first of its kind, allowing customers to top up their ‘Careem Credit’ accounts via their Hala or Shahry account in denominations of QR 50, QR 100, QR 200, QR 300 or QR 350. As an added bonus, credit cards are not required - they can send an SMS and the amount they would like to top up their Careem account with to 92248, effectively paying for the ride with their mobile phone.

Unlike other car services in Qatar, Careem allows users to choose the car type that best suits their needs, have the option of paying in cash, credit or through Ooredoo, and select from first, business, or economy class cars. The Careem application also automatically locates a user’s address using GPS.

Customers can then follow their driver in real time on the application map, and drivers will send an SMS to let customers know they've arrived. To ensure the best service, users can also rate drivers to help monitor and improve service levels.

Interested?

Ooredoo customers can download the application and sign up using the promo code ‘Ooredoo’ to enjoy QR 60 off their first ride.

Visa and Kaligo.com partner to help business travellers

Visa and Kaligo.com, a global hotel booking platform that rewards frequent travellers with thousands of airline miles or credit card points on every booking, has announced an alliance to help businesses with their hotel bookings. 

Kaligo Business Plus provides small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with a travel tool that enables them to earn rewards, reduce costs and manage travel expenses. The rewards-centric hotel booking solution provides Visa and card issuers with product differentiation, deeper SME engagement and greater travel policy compliance.

The benefits for SMEs are compelling:

Delight employees - Reward business travellers with thousands of attractive miles and points on their hotel bookings, so they can fly for free on their next holiday
Reduce travel spend - Easily set daily rate limits by city and by employee category, reflecting the desired travel policy
Get insights - Quickly view reports to see the entire company's booking activity in one place, and export data to feed into other SME tools for accounting or analysis
Boost policy compliance - Leverage Kaligo's rich rewards to drive more spend compliance on the Visa commercial card

More SMEs are now moving away from relying on traditional travel agents and allowing their staff to book their own travel. These frequent travellers - business executives, sales representatives, those who travel regularly for work - whom Kaligo is targeting. In a study commissioned by Visa and conducted by RFi Group, it is estimated that between 3% and 5% of all business expenses are on travel*.

Kaligo Business Plus makes it convenient to find the ideal business hotel with tailored review scores and special filters for business travellers. Companies can easily configure travel policies and realise cost savings. In just a few clicks, an administrator can create employee profiles within the company's Kaligo Business Plus account. Tracking company spend by employee category or team is easy with real-time dashboards and reports.

Vikram Kshettry, Head of Small Business Products, Asia Pacific of Visa said, "We are very pleased to partner with Kaligo. The tailored Kaligo Business Plus proposition drives key benefits for issuers, Visa and SMEs. This exclusive offer to Visa cardholders provides cost savings for companies and convenience for business travellers. We will be working with over 60 Visa issuers in Asia Pacific to communicate and promote Kaligo Business Plus to their eligible Visa cardholders."

Kyle Armstrong, CEO of Kaligo.com said, "We are delighted to work with Visa on this initiative. The combination of Kaligo's broad inventory of 365,000 hotels, our wide range of rewards programme options and Visa's extensive reach that connects consumers, businesses and financial institutions in more than 200 markets to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments, yields compelling benefits for SMEs. Our offering allows SMEs to reduce their travel spend, gain powerful insights and boost policy compliance."

"We are delighted to be the first bank to partner with VISA and support their collaboration with Kaligo to launch Kaligo Business Plus. Citibank's VISA Commercial Cards clients in Singapore will benefit from Kaligo's hotel booking solution that allows them to better manage their corporate travel needs and at the same time, earn reward points of up to 25 times faster which can be used to redeem hotel stays and flights among other attractive offers," said John Denhof, Head of Cards and Personal Loans at Citibank Singapore.

*The Visa SME Payments Survey 2015 was conducted by RFi Group with close to 1,000 companies interviewed in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

GrabTaxi launches GrabCar service in Phuket

Source: GrabTaxi.

GrabTaxi, a regional on-demand transport mobile app, has launched its latest partnering service in Phuket, Thailand. Offering a premium and personalised ride experience, GrabCar aims to make commuting in Phuket hassle-free especially for tourists who visit Phuket.

Tourists can book a GrabCar and will be picked up at their doorstep in minutes, allowing them to explore the sights and sounds of Phuket safely and conveniently with a few taps on their smartphones.

As GrabCar operates on the same mobile platform as GrabTaxi, it ensures a seamless commuting experience for users. The same app can also be used in five other countries; Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, so travellers can expect consistency in the service.

GrabCar patrons will be ferried in premium cars such as a Mercedes-Benz, Toyota Camry, Nissan Teana or Honda Accord. GrabCar is also the only mobile app-based service to offer advanced bookings. Passengers can book a premium car up to two hours and no more than seven days in advance, which is especially popular for rides to the airport.

"GrabTaxi and its new partnering service GrabCar brings peace of mind and convenience to users. These two aspects are particularly important for tourists looking to have memorable holidays in Phuket. With GrabCar, they have an efficient, and a quick and convenient way of getting around safely," said Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong. "I hope that all green plate taxi drivers will join GrabCar to offer quality service."

#GrabDurian with #GrabTaxi on August 1 and 2 in Singapore

Source: GrabTaxi.

Southeast Asian taxi booking app GrabTaxi is offering loyal GrabTaxi passengers some premium examples of the king of fruits this coming weekend in Singapore.

On 1 and 2 August, users can order* a box of freshly-packed Mao Shan Wang via the GrabTaxi app for S$10 and have it delivered by a special GrabCar durian fleet. Delivery is island-wide and orders can be made via the app from 2pm – 9pm.

The Mao Shan Wang is of Malaysian origin and each box will contain the flesh from a whole durian of at least 1.5kg. Each user is limited to one order of durians and are advised to make their orders early due to limited availability. Grabbers are encouraged to share their experience by uploading images of their order and hashtagging #GrabDurian #MaoShanWang #BaoJiak on social media.

According to the company, the GrabDurian initiative for passengers is a response to Grabbers (GrabTaxi customers) who voiced their support for the durian feast which GrabTaxi held for its drivers last month.

It is likely that the GrabCar durian fleet will be kept busy. Since the app was launched in 2012, tens of thousands of taxi drivers have been using smart phones equipped with GrabTaxi to accept booking taxis in Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. The GrabTaxi app has been downloaded than 5.5 million times and has an average of 10 bookings in every second.

Interested?

Order the durians by selecting the durian fleet icon in the GrabTaxi app and keying in “GRABDURIAN” in the promo code field

Download the app on smart phones and tablets with iOS, on Android, and on Blackberry

*Terms & conditions:
 Durians will be available for order on 1 and 2 August 2015, 2 – 9 pm
 Each user is limited to one order of durians only
 Payment by cash or GrabPay (payment card via GrabTaxi app) – For cash, please provide exact change where possible. Only $2, $5, $10 and $50 notes will be accepted

InterContinental Dubai Marina opens advance bookings for Marina Social

Source: InterContinental
Dubai Marina. Atherton.

The InterContinental Dubai Marina has shared the official opening date and advance bookings for Marina Social and The Social Room, UK Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton’s debut restaurant in the region. Bookings are now accepted for the restaurant and bar opening in the heart of Dubai Marina, which opens on 4 September.

Marina Social will bring Jason Atherton’s deformalised fine dining to the recently opened InterContinental Dubai Marina. Atherton’s growing portfolio of 'Social’ restaurants include locations in London, Hong Kong, New York and now the first in the Middle East.

“Simply put, I love Dubai,” said Atherton. “I first worked in Dubai more than 10 years ago and the city holds a lot of special memories for me, especially because it’s where I met my wife Irha – so it was always an ambition to return and open up my own restaurant.

“Dubai has such a vibrant lifestyle scene as well as fantastic food, and I want Marina Social to be a destination for both, whether you’re having dinner in the restaurant or sundowners on the terrace. I’m hoping Marina Social will become one of the best restaurants in Dubai.”

Marina Social will offer British-Mediterranean styled dishes that use the finest ingredients with the creative flair and culinary expertise that Atherton’s restaurants are known for. Leading the team is chef patron Tristin Farmer and general manager David Vindis, both of whom have been with the ‘Social’ family in London.

“Marina Social and The Social Room are as vibrant and cosmopolitan as the Dubai Marina,” said Michael Martin, General Manager at InterContinental Dubai Marina. “At InterContinental Dubai Marina we are very proud and excited to house such an exquisite dining concept, promising an atmosphere that will blend perfectly with the hotel’s contemporary vibe and Marina neighborhood,” he concluded.

Marina Social will open daily for dinner with indoor and al fresco terrace seating. 

Interested?

Advance bookings for dinner at Marina Social can be made from 2 August 2015 by calling +971 (0) 4446 6664. The first tables are available from 6pm to 11.30pm from Friday 4 September 2015.

BudgetHotels.sg unveils new and improved website

Source: BudgetHotels.sg website.

Online hotel search guide BudgetHotels.sg recently refreshed their website to provide a more intuitive way to book inexpensive lodging in Singapore.

Designed to maximise mobile access and with faster loading times, the revamped site allows visitors to categorise the one- to four-star hotels in its database by price ranges such as

· Less than S$50
· S$50 - $79
· S$80 - $119
· S$120 - $149
· More than S$150

Maximising the website’s mobile responsiveness was a strategic business decision based on recent findings in the hospitality industry. According to Criteo’s 2014 Travel Flash Report released last September, travel bookings via mobile devices soared by more than 20% in the first six months of the year, and are growing much more rapidly than those booked on desktop computers. Smartphones and tablets accounted for 21% of hotel bookings.

"For the past three years, BudgetHotels.sg has been the go-to destination for travelers looking for value-for-money accomodation and activities in Singapore,” said BudgetHotels.sg founder Danny Lee. “We recognise that today’s travellers want the ease and convenience of making their trip arrangements on their mobile devices, so we strategically optimised our site to give them added flexibility, improved navigability and faster loading time.”

Detailed descriptions of featured properties include hotel facilities, room amenities and location (including a map). Proximity to subway stations is now indicated in terms of walking duration.

BHM Asia launches new booking website for its X2 and Away villa brands in Chiang Mai

Source: www.VillasChiangMai.com

Asia-Pacific hotel management, development and consulting group Bespoke Hospitality Management Asia (BHMAsia) has launched a new website for holiday villa rental that lists all villa properties in Chiang Mai under its X2 (CrossTo) and Away brands. 

According to BHMAsia, a Chiang Mai holiday villa means more space than a hotel room, with separate bedrooms and social living spaces accommodating up to 14 people in some cases. Each villa is served by a dedicated villa manager, who can arrange breakfast and traditional Thai buffets or arrange sightseeing and travel itineraries. 

The X2 Chiang Mai - Nimman, for instance, is located in the trendy Nimmanhaemin area of Chiang Mai, and will launch in July 2015. The villa’s modern retro design reflects the hipness of the area. Spread out over 580 sq m, the X2 Chiang Mai - Nimman townhouse villa offers accommodation for 14 guests with seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms.

The X2 Chiang Mai - Nimman features a living room, fully equipped kitchen, games room with snooker table, rooftop BBQ and sundeck.

The website provides full information about the villas, availability, latest deals with instant confirmation of bookings. There are choices of three, five and six bedroom villas including X2 Chiang Mai-North Gate, X2 Chiang Mai-South Gate, and Away Phucome Chiang Mai. 

Cristal Group develops proprietary multilingual commission-free reservations tool

The Cristal Group will become the first hotel management company worldwide to develop its own zero commission based reservations tool that promises cheaper hotels.

A new multilingual website based on a proprietary booking engine will launch this month. According to Cristal's Chief Operating Officer Kamal Fakhoury, the new website will make it easier for customers to book Cristal Hotels, with extended language options that will include Arabic, and Chinese among other languages. 

“With hotels in Abu Dhabi, Iraq, Lebanon and more to come in Saudi Arabia, we are building an international client base and it is vital that we can communicate with potential customers in their language,” he said.

“Looking ahead, China and Russia have been identified as major growth markets for the future, with 140 million Chinese alone visiting overseas destinations in 2015 – while Germany remains a strong source market for destinations such as UAE.”

Further benefits of the new website will be competitive pricing, as the proprietary booking engine ensuring that hotels do not pay direct web booking commission and can pass this saving on to owners and customers. The new website will also feature a dedicated media, marketing and HR portal, he added.

“We will ensure we have international reach through partnering with global distribution experts, Travel click, but have determined the scope of the new brand website through intensive research that ultimately benefits both the client and the hotels.”

The Cristal Group was established in the UAE in 2007 followed by the British Virgin Islands in 2012 to deliver hospitality consultancy, technical services, asset management and brand management. Its vision is to be the premier business and leisure hotel operator in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. 

Nellore gets taxi service from YatraGenie

Source: YatraGenie. India's Union Minister for Urban Development, Venkaiah Naidu, addressing the launch event in Nellore on January 10.

YatraGenie, a travel portal from Paxterra Software Solutions, has launched a taxi service for the city of Nellore in Hyderabad, India. The company plans to extend the initiative to more tier 2 cities in the coming months. 

The new service comprises of a fleet of 100 cars. YatraGenie cabs are equipped with GPRS/GPS location tracking services, including a panic button, and comply with the security and transportation norms regulated by the government of India to ply cab services in the country.

Journeyful redesigns website, adds more listings and better rewards

Source: Journeyful. The Journeyful 2.0 website.

Singapore-based Journeyful has re-launched the revamped website for its reward-based online travel agency, Journeyful.com. The all-new Journeyful '2.0' website has a hotel inventory of over 200,000 properties worldwide, a best price guarantee, and integration with Facebook. 

Journeyful MICE, which provides full-service solutions for business conferences, corporate events and incentive travel, is part of the website re-design. Once a query is made online, MICE consultants work with the organisation offline to tailor solutions accordingly, said a Journeyful spokesperson. 

Users can participate in the Journeyful Booking Rewards programme, as well in loyalty programmes run by participating hotels and ferry operators on the site.

Source: Journeyful. Moe Ibrahim, Founder and CEO, Journeyful.

Journeyful is also focused on getting user feedback to improve the guest experience with a public board where users and partners can suggest new features, report bugs and provide comments about the site. "We will continue to evolve the website,” said Moe Ibrahim, Founder and CEO at Journeyful. “Look out for new features and updates in the coming weeks.”

Businesses and professionals based in Singapore can request Journeyful's premium Travel Concierge Service, which offers fully customised travel services. 

Journeyful has developed an ecosystem of offerings for travel. Besides Journeyful.com, the company also runs Journeyful Travel, a physical travel agency, and develops software that enables hotels to capture bookings directly from their customers. 

The company has further soft-launched an iOS mobile app, which offers a US$10 Journeyful reward that can be used towards a hotel booking, and plans to release an Android version soon. 

Singaporeans can hail a cab with Hailo

Hailo, the world’s highest-rated taxi app, is operational in Singapore as of October 29. The app has 23,000 five-star reviews in the App Store and Google Play, which the company points out is more than any other taxi app. Hailo says a Hailo 'hail' is accepted around the world every two seconds from Hailo’s global network of over 60,000 drivers and more than 1.4 million passengers. 

Source: Hailo. From left: Benny Lim, Managing Director, SMRT Road Holdings; Ron Zeghibe, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Hailo Global, and Yu Hsiang Wong, General Manager, Hailo Singapore.

The Hailo passenger app helps people get a cab with just two taps on their smartphone. Mobile payments eliminate the need to carry cash, and trip receipts are sent instantly by email. Singapore’s taxi drivers can use the Hailo driver app to complete more jobs in less time, earning up to 30% more on every shift they work.

The news follows the announcement of Hailo’s partnership with SMRT Road Holdings. In agreeing to work together, Hailo and SMRT share a common vision to create an inclusive platform that provides equal access and benefits for all of Singapore’s taxi companies and their drivers. Hailo Singapore confirmed today that fleet operator Prime Taxi has joined with SMRT to support the new platform.

Hailo is available to passengers as a free download from the App Store and Google Play. New customers can enter promo code HELLOSING to receive a free S$10 credit on their first ride this week.

Taxi drivers can register via the Hailo website or email singapore.drivers@hailocab.com. The new Hailo Driver Office is located at 46 Kim Yan Road.

Launched in November 2011, Hailo is available in Asia in Osaka as well as Singapore. Hailo has carried over twenty million passengers and sees annualised sales of well over US$100 million.

Read the blog post about the partnership here.

SMRT JV Hailo Singapore will allow taxi e-receipts

SMRT Road Holdings (SMRT Roads) has announced a joint venture agreement with London-based taxi mobile application developer Hailo Network Holdings (Hailo) to form Hailo Singapore. Under the agreement, a taxi booking application will be introduced to passengers and taxi drivers in Singapore.

Benny Lim, Managing Director of SMRT Roads, said that the new joint venture would provide an enhanced travel experience for passengers. "The integration of Hailo Network's expertise in taxi booking systems and SMRT Road's experience in taxi operations and fleet management offers a seamless taxi booking experience for our passengers and taxi drivers in Singapore," he said.

Ron Zeghibe, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Hailo Network, said “Hailo's mission is to make taxis work better for both passengers and drivers all across the world. Founded in 2011, Hailo is a global service with extensive operations in Europe, North America and Asia. By partnering with SMRT Roads, we are combining the best-in-class Hailo app with the resources needed to provide a new level of choice, quality and service for Singapore. Hailo is here for the long term and is excited to be working with SMRT, the leading multi-modal public transport operator in Singapore.”

Targeted for launch in Singapore in October, the Hailo taxi booking application offers passengers an easy way to organise taxi claims. Passengers can register their credit cards with Hailo and receive e-mail receipts at the end of their trips. This shortens the time required for the processing of payment for both the passenger and taxi driver. The app will also allow users to book and track their taxi’s arrival through a real-time display.

TaxiPixi taxi booking app wins mBillionth Award in South Asia

TaxiPixi, a smartphone-based taxi booking app that allows customers to send a taxi request directly to drivers of multiple taxi companies in real time, has been recognised as the best Travel App for South Asia at the 5th mBillionth Awards. 

The mBillionth Award honours outstanding mobile content and apps from eight countries in South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Source: TaxiPixi.

“This award gives us great confidence and further strengthens our belief in a one-stop solution for all urban transportation needs,” said Kajal Dubey, CEO of TaxiPixi. "We have received extremely positive feedback from customers and taxi operators across the world."

TaxiPixi has more than 2,000 cabs registered on its platform in Delhi and Hyderabad in India, and also in Malaysia. The app is available on both the Android and iOS platforms.


Read about TaxiPixi's Malaysia launch here.

TaxiPixi cab booking app now in Kuala Lumpur, more countries to come

Cab booking app TaxiPixi is now in Malaysia, and will be on Celkon phones not only in India, which it calls home, but also in Sri Lanka, South Africa and Nepal. 

India-headquartered On Time Technologies, the company behind TaxiPixi, launched the app in Malaysia this week, and also announced that mobile phone maker Celkon will also be pre-installing the app on its phones in other countries.

"As a part of the deal Celkon will pre-embed the TaxiPixi application in all its compatible smart phones selling in India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Nepal, and promote it to our existing consumers through the Celkon app store and website," said Pradeep Yerraguntla, Head, Digital, Celkon Mobiles.  

The radio taxi booking app is now available in 10 cities in India and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Cabs may be booked in under 15 seconds, and there is an instant confirmation of the booking. The taxis can also be tracked in real-time before they reach the user. 

Kajal Dubey, CEO, TaxiPixi, said that the partnership with Celkon is adding substantially to the existing user base.   

"The mobile range on offer by Celkon is a perfect combination of fashion and purpose. Our aim will be to leverage their innovative products to build conversations with young consumers as they enjoy experimenting with exciting innovative technology products like Taxipixi. We are adding up to 100,000 users every month through Celkon," she said.

The app went live in Malaysia on 20 February. "We will be marketing online through Facebook, and giving drivers a free trial offer for a month," said Dubey. Participating drivers will display the distinctive orange stickers with the TaxiPixi logo on their vehicles.

*All images from TaxiPixi.

TaxiPixi aims to make taxis more popular in India and beyond

A new free taxi booking app is making waves in India. Available through an Android or iOS app or online, TaxiPixi is less than a year old and offers reliable point-to-point and hourly packages for booking cabs, motorcycles or autos (auto-rickshaws).

TaxiPixi's home page online

“We believe that the primary hurdle towards increasing taxi usage is the lack of reliable availability and the perceived high cost of taxis when compared to driving your own car,” said Co-founder and CEO Kajal Dubey.

According to Dubey, taxi usage can be increased in India when customers are assured of four things:

1. Availability: If there is always a cab available when a customer makes a booking

2. Timeliness: Customers should get the cab in 10 to 15 minutes

3. Reliability: A driver who accepts the booking always shows up, and shows up on time

4. Cost: The cost of using a taxi should not be 25% to 30% higher than driving your own car

“We hope to achieve these goals by making taxi booking extremely easy, increasing transparency of cab availability and providing more choices to customers as well as drivers. We believe that these will help in improving the efficiency of the taxi market in India, thereby reducing the cost of taxis for customers and increasing the profitability for cab drivers,” she said.

TaxiPixi is structured with safety in mind, Dubey added. “We add a driver to the TaxiPixi platform only after a thorough manual verification of all documents, permits and licences of the cab and driver. As an additional safety measure, we are working on technology that would enable customers to share details of their journey with their family and friends,” Dubey said.

While CabGuru also offers taxi booking in India, TaxiPixi seems to have hit the sweet spot for many. Since it was launched in May 2013, TaxiPixi has crossed 25,000 downloads on the Android platform, with 20,000+ downloads for Delhi alone. TaxiPixi launched in Hyderabad in October 2013 and has since added more than 200 drivers and more than 5,000 Android downloads from that city. There was also pent-up demand for TaxiPixi on iOS. The iOS app launched on Christmas eve 2013, and saw more than 1,000 downloads in less than 48 hours.

“We plan to extend our services to other metro cities including Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai,” Dubey shared. “TaxiPixi has also received interest from entrepreneurs in other countries – including the US, UK, Peru, Turkey, and Malaysia, to bring the free taxi booking app to these markets.”