User:Paul.malicki/Easy Taxi

Easy Taxi is a mobile taxi hailing application available in 27 countries. The app allows users to book a taxi and track it in real time. The same iOS, Android, or Windows Phone app can be used in all places in which the partner taxis operate.

Easy Taxi was founded in 2011 in Brazil and has since expanded globally, covering the network of 27 countries and more than 80 cities, growing at the rate of three cities per month. As of November 2013, the company reported it reached the number of 3mln users. More than 80’000 taxi drivers are affiliated with an Easy Taxi network.

The startup is backed primarily by the biggest e-Commerce incubator in the world, Rocket Internet, but also other investors, including Millicon and iMENA secure Easy Taxi's foothold in emerging markets. The three latest series of investment took Easy Taxi to over $32mln in backing.

History
The original idea emerged in early 2011 from the main founder and current CEO, Tallis Gomes. According to Gomes, the main trigger for starting the company was inefficiency of the taxi transportation he experienced in Rio de Janeiro during one of the startup events: "I was attending an event for start-ups in Leblon and I was waiting for a taxi for about half an hour on a rainy night. At that time I was planning to create a bus monitoring application, but I changed my mind and decided to invest in this solution."

The concept was first presented to the public during the Startup Weekend RIO 2011. After winning the entire competition, in the same year the company won Startup Farm Rio contest and entered the group of five finalists selected from scores of entrants in the IBM-backed SmartCamp competition. Together with other finalists, Easy Taxi was invited to the high-tech conference in Rio, which brought together business leaders and government officials interested in solving urban problems.

The application was launched in beta version in August 2011, following two-month-long introductory phase. Daniel Cohen, Vinicius Gracia, Bernardo Bicalho, and Marcio William joined Gomes at company’s early stages, forming its first team.

Unable to find am investor at the beginning of startup operations, Gomes had to sell his car to support the early day-to-day business and prove the concept. The first 20 drivers were acquired on a local gas station. Gomes used his personal savings to purchase the smartphones distributed to the drivers.

Rio de Janeiro served as a test market for Easy Taxi, with an official launch of the app in April 2012. The initial business model was based on charging the driver R$2 per each completed ride. Within the first year of operations, the company managed to acquire more than 5000 drivers and 200’000 users.

Upon entering São Paulo, Alex Tabor, an angel investor from Peixe Urbano, supported the company with first major funding.

The real turning point came with the first round of investment of $4.9mln from Rocket Internet in October 2012. The fresh inflow of funds allowed Easy Taxi to expand abroad to its first international market, Mexico.

On 24 June 2013, Easy Taxi received Series B investment from Latin America Internet Holding (LIH) a joint venture between Rocket Internet and Millicom, securing another $15mln. At that time the company stated it had more than 1 mln downloads and 30000 drivers in the network. The new funds were intended for international expansion in Asia and LATAM, improved customer service and new features. Following the capital injection, the company entered several new markets, including Malaysia (July 2013), Philippines and Thailand (August 2013), Hong Kong, and Taiwan (October 2013).

Another, $10mln round of funding and a plan to tackle a new market – Africa, were announced in July 2013. The joint venture responsible for the investment was Africa Internet Holding, backed by Rocket Internet and its 35% owner, telecoms operator Millicom.

In October 2013, Rocket Internet and iMENA Holding partnered together, launching the app in the Middle East and North Africa. The investment amounted to $7mln and was intended for the app's regional rollout, which started in Saudi Arabia. On launching in Nigeria, the company has also announced its plans to enter Ghana, Egypt, Morocco, Ivory Coast, and South Africa towards the end of 2013.

The original concept of prioritizing markets that have urban mobility problems and experience inefficiency in their transportation systems still constitutes an integral part of the expansion strategy of Easy Taxi with nearly all of its markets belonging to the group of emerging economies.

Features and functionality
Easy Taxi can be used on Android, iOS and Blackberry 10 devices, while in Brazil – also on Windows Phone. The company offers ETPro solution, designed for bars, hotels, and establishments as a desktop equivalent of the mobile application. ETPro can book up to 5 passengers and can only be used upon registering the account. The service is free to use in most of the countries apart from Thailand and Philippines, where additional fees apply.

The application allows the user to request a taxi with a tap of a button. The GPS system automatically detects the location of the passenger, which can be further specified using the “Landmark” field. The “Destination” field allows for manual input of the address, where the journey ends. While booking the cab, the user can also add additional “Tip” for the driver. The app enables country-specific features, such as “Airport taxi” or “Excess luggage”.

The “Request taxi” button triggers the scanner, which finds partner cabs within certain radius of a location. The nearby taxi drivers, equipped with smartphones, can accept a ride or reject it. The first driver in the target area will be assigned to the user, who receives a confirmation with the name and car of the driver, as well as his number plate, photo and cellphone number. The app allows the user to track the driver in the real-time, using the in-built map. One can save favorite addresses and check ride history.

The driver version of the app is available only on Android devices. Apart from accepting rides, the driver can send arrival alerts and boarding notifications to the passenger. Drivers might call the passengers and use the in-built navigation support with either Google Navigation or Waze.

Languages and localization
Easy Taxi is available in 11 languages – English, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Tagalog, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Arabic, and Urdu. The language and currency settings are adjusted automatically based on the language detected in the phone.

The user interface is similar across all the countries. . There are additional types of services that can be selected, including type of the taxi, airport services or excessive luggage. The monetization model is based on charging the driver additional fee, which differs per market, varying from fixed-rate R$2 in Brazil to about 5% charge imposed on the total takes for rides in Nigeria. The passenger pays additional booking fee of THB20 in Thailand and PHP70 in the Philippines, whereas in other countries using an app is free. The company acquires mostly individual taxi drivers, although depending on the location, also entire taxi fleets enter the partnerships with Easy Taxi.

Awards
The company won multiple awards as a pioneer in taxi call service in Latin America. This includes Startup Weekend RIO 2011, IBM SmartCamp Brazil 2011, Startup Farm RIO 2011 and TNW Brazil Awards.

Social Responsibility
Easy Taxi is supporting the social responsibility programs for the taxi industry worldwide. In Brazil it implemented a system of the so called “Bibliotaxis”, through which passengers can borrow books available inside Easy Taxi cabs, returning them on the next trip. In other Latin American countries it partnered with local bars and restaurants to promote the “Don’t drink and drive campaign.” In the Philippines, in turn, the company implemented a series of education and physical training for the drivers, aiming at improving the image of the transportation industry in Manila and portray it as safe and efficient.