E-Hailing Services – A New Normal in the Public Transit Ecology

There are quite a few factors that are poised to drive e-hailing market growth at an exponential rate during the forecast period. The first and foremost is the conveniences whereby consumers can avail rides just through the means of a mobile application and /or phone call. This nullifies the need for owning a car and bear all the associated expenses. The other reason that is after the aforesaid is the adoption of the aforesaid nullifies the need for owning a car that in turn aid s in the gradual reduction in ambient air pollution and becomes a partial contributor to a host of factors that can decelerate global warming. Moreover, with the rapid pace of infrastructure development undertaken by various governments’ around the world the availability of a comfortable ride experience at one’s fingertips sans the hassles like parking troubles is the sum of all the aforesaid factors. The other aspect that has turned out to be successful to woo in the traditional cab hailers is the attractive offers that various e-hailing service providers offer.

For example, OLA and Uber, two globally renowned companies, provide monthly pass facilities to users, where consumers can use ride pooling at lower rates than paying for their rides every day. This aspect also acts as an initiator for those who are in their early adolescence and inadvertently dissuades them from adhering to the propensity of owning a personal vehicle. The other offerings are the inclusion of services like food delivery and e-wallets for making payments for example to pay utility bills are also poised to drive the e-hailing market to an unprecedented echelon during the forecast period. There have been a few launches as well wherein the government has been a major stakeholder. For example, The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and transportation network company Careem officially launched Hala, an e-hailing service in August 2019 the Careem app will enable a good number portion of the taxi fleet to provide services to the consumers and satiate the increasing demand for ride-hailing services.

Certain key Competitive strategies by the prominent players of the market

There have been a few key developments, which have been set in motion by certain major market players in the global ICT sector. Further, in February 2020, Chinese Ride-Hailing GiantDiDi Chuxing (DiDi) announced that it will launch food delivery services in Japan, from April. This strategic move is to expand its presence in the East Asian country. It already operates ride-hailing service in Japan. Last year, that is 2019, the organization launched a similar service in Mexico. It also announced that it will launch its ride-hailing services in Sydney, Australia, in March 2020. In February 2020, the same organization expanded its range of services in Chile by launching DiDi Taxi in the capital Santiago to improve mobility in the country by making a myriad of options available at a price that can be accessed by the consumers, along with better safety standards, among others. On the other hand, it has been reported that in March 2020, the SoftBank Group Corp is about to a $300 million investment in the autonomous driving subsidiary of DiDi Chuxing.

In the same region of South East Asia, another major emerging player in the e-hailing market Gojek has reportedly raised 1.2 billion in fresh capital and increased its Series F round total to just under $3 billion, in March 2020. Gojek, which operates multiple businesses across ride-hailing, food delivery, logistics, and others. There is speculation that it is in conversation with its rival Grab for a merger. While Gojeck has launched a free online medical consultation service in partnership with Halodoc., in the same month Grab has announced the launch of grocery services in Vietnam. Singapore-headquartered ride-hailing firm Grab has launched GrabMart, a grocery service on its app, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. GrabMart allows users in the southern city to order fresh and processed food and drinks from its merchant partners, including supermarkets, convenience stores, and food retailers.

In January 2020 it was reported that Estonia’s Bolt closedthe US $50 million funding deal from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help the startup scale throughout Europe and improve its technology. Moreover, the goal of the funding is to support Bolt’s product development and research in areas where the use of technology can improve the safety, reliability, and sustainability of its services while maintaining the high efficiency of the company’s operations. This includes investments in existing services like ride-hailing as well as personalized mobility services like food delivery.

Among all these giants some of them who are facing certain challenging market conditions, Facedrive Inc. (TSXV: FD), the first Canadian peer-to-peer, eco-friendly and socially responsible ride-sharing network, in March 2020 acquired 100% HiRide Share Ltd in a share exchange agreement that will immediately position Facedrive to corner the Canadian market by adding HiRide’s 20,000+ strong long-distance commuter network to Facedrive’s first-ever carbon neutral first-and-last-mile ride-sharing business. The unique selling proposition of both companies is that they operate on “people and planet first” principles, turning the burgeoning and highly polluting ride-sharing into a service that leaves behind a low carbon footprint. While Facedrive is the evolution in first-and-last-mile ride-sharing, HiRide is the evolution in carpooling. Facedrive ride-hailing offsets any possible CO2 emissions, and for the very first time in ride-sharing history, gives customers the choice to be even more environmentally conscious

The scaling doesn’t stop at automobiles only, many have also integrated bike-sharing services enabling the workers an option to travel at their own pace and choose an eco-friendlier transit option. Thus, from the aforementioned myriad of strategic moves that range from global footprint expansion, increasing the service portfolio and plausible mergers as well as acquisitions its s clear that irrespective what the general market is going through the E-Hailing Market trends are quite favorable. Additionally, despite a mixed consensus about whether it aids in the mitigation of impacts of climate change the global e-hailing market is poised to witness exponential growth during the forecast period.