TaxiGo, the Taiwanese version of US-based ride-hailing service Uber, on Wednesday started official operations after a successful three-month trial period.
TaxiGo also announced that it has received more than NT$10 million (US$329,110) in funds for future expansion, as investors appeared upbeat about the outlook for the new ride-hailing provider.
TaxiGo has developed a chatroom called “Chatbot” that Line and Facebook users can use to hail a taxi, company chief executive Chen Tai-cheng (陳泰成) said.
Users do not need to download any additional app, but can simply log onto Chatbot to write down the address where they want to be picked up and confirm the request, Chen said.
They are not required to register or provide their personal information, he said, adding that TaxiGo’s fleet comprises more than 2,500 cabs.
During the three months of trial operations, the company received an average of more than 1,000 ride requests a day, TaxiGo said.
In addition to its own fleet, TaxiGo works with 18 taxi companies, including Kao Yi (高一), Dun Nan (敦南) and Yu Feng (裕豐), Chen said.
According to TaxiGo, Taiwan has about 86,000 taxis on the streets every day, providing about 400 million rides every year, which translates into a huge market with annual sales of NT$54 billion.
To improve user safety and service quality, Chen said the Chatbot platform provides consumers with an evaluation system to assess each ride, while the platform records every journey, which can be shared with other taxi drivers for future rides.
All taxi drivers participating in the service are strictly screened, TaxiGo said.
Users can also register their credit cards with the platform for payment convenience, it added.
Chen said that TaxiGo aims to recruit more drivers into its fleet to meet demand.
TaxiGo said that the platform is an initial step for the company and it might expand into other areas, such as car rentals.
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