Mai Linh launches motorbike taxi to compete with Uber and Grab

UberMoto and GrabBike are about to have a new competitor when on November 20, Mai Linh Taxi Company plans to launch the Mai Linh Bike motorbike taxi fleet with comparable prices.

According to Mr. Ho Huy, Chairman of Mai Linh Board of Directors, Mai Linh's motorbike taxi application called Mai Linh Bike has been tested for about a month by the company's employees and drivers.

This is considered a preparation step for Mai Linh Bike to officially operate in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City on November 20.

Like GrabBike and UberMoto, customers using Mai Linh motorbike taxis will know information about the driver such as full name, photo, vehicle registration number and phone number.

Mai Linh driver test drives technology motorbike taxi.

One of the main concerns is the fare which Mai Linh considers competitive.

For regular vehicles, the fare is 11,000 VND/first 2km and 3,800 VND/next km.

The premium fare is double the normal fare, at 20,000 VND for the first 2km and 7,000 VND for the next km. However, this Premium fare will only be implemented in the second phase later.

Thus, it can be seen that the price of Mai Linh Bike compared to UberMoto and GrabBike is not much different.

Currently, UberMoto has a fare of 3,700 VND/km. However, for each minute of using this service, customers are charged 200 VND, not to mention that UberMoto also applies a cancellation fee of 5,000 VND and sets a minimum fare of 10,000 VND.

Meanwhile, GrabBike fares in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are calculated according to two different price lists.

Specifically, GrabBike applies a fare of 11,000 VND/first 2km for the Hanoi market, while the first 2km in Ho Chi Minh City costs 12,000 VND.

Prices for both Uber and Grab are also adjusted flexibly when demand increases based on the area and time of day, so they can increase quite sharply.

One of the tricks to attract drivers (which Mai Linh calls partners) to cooperate is the profit sharing ratio.

Accordingly, the sharing ratio given by Mai Linh in the first 2 months from November 20, 2017 to January 19, 2018 is 0% for the group and 100% for partners, in order to attract drivers.

In the following months, the company will apply a rate of 15% for Mai Linh and 85% for drivers. This is a lower rate than the 20-25% that competitors Grab and Uber are applying.

According to Mai Linh's representative, drivers who want to become Mai Linh's partners will have to go through a training course and, upon acceptance, will pay an account maintenance fee of 100,000 VND.

If the maintenance amount is only 10,000 VND, the company will lock the driver's Mai Linh Bike account.

According to TTO