Grab is currently rolling out a new safety feature: passengers and driver-partners on our Mobility services wherein they are required to verify their identity. This will further protect their account against fraud and make the platform safer for all the services users, passengers and driver-partners alike
The ride-hailing scene is heating up in Cambodia with TADA testing electric tuk-tuks on the streets of the capital, Grab increasing its safety features and beefing up grocery deliveries and local rival PassApp promising to expand into every province in Cambodia and launch extra services in a new app.
Singapore-headquartered MVL TADA’s E-Tuktuk will soon offer customers a cleaner alternative to rivals. It has produced two prototypes of the MVL ONiON T1 E-Tuktuk in South Korea and starts full-scale production at its Cambodian factory this month, after delaying plans to start last year.
“The delay is due to the pandemic and us wanting to launch with a great product,” said Head of EV David Ly. “We produced the first prototype in early 2021 and discovered many opportunities for improvement. The decision was to spend more time on improving the product and launching with a great product.”
Ly said the company aims to produce more than 3,000 passenger tuk-tuks, 2,000 plus cargo tuk-tuks this year, along with 1,000 electric motorbikes and expects to sell every vehicle that rolls off the production lines.
“We have two prototypes for the alpha test. One is being used as a test vehicle for drivers and the other is being tested by our team to ensure the product can handle the road conditions and weather in Cambodia,” said Ly. “Besides having a good product for drivers, we need to ensure a satisfying experience for drivers. This means having swapping stations available around the city. The current plan is to have one mega station, two hub stations, and several partner stations around the city. As more electric tuk-tuks are rolled out, we will continue to add more stations to ensure a seamless experience for our drivers.”
TADA drivers earn 100 percent of the fare and the company makes money by collecting and monetising the data using blockchain technology. Ly said TADA does not see Grab or PassApp as competitors.
“They are traditional platform services that cannot fulfil the needs of drivers,” he said. “What we are building is a new platform which some say is Web3. In addition, we don’t compete against traditional platforms. We can work together whenever they are ready to welcome Web3.”
Locally-headquartered PassApp was the original ride-hailing app in Cambodia and offers services in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Battambang, Kampong Cham and Kampot. It plans to get even bigger this year.
‘PassApp is the biggest and leading ride-hailing service in Cambodia. With the wide service that we are currently providing, we plan to expand into all provinces in Cambodia in 2022,” said Operation and Product Development Manager Sothoun Choun. “We understand about Cambodian people, so we will release a new generation of our app that provides the passenger with modern and useful services. We are ready and we going to surprise people with our new services very soon.”
Singapore-headquartered Grab operates services in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. It also offers delivery and grocery services through GrabMart.
The company raised $4.5 million in an initial public offering, listing its shares on the Nasdaq last month.
Grab’s Head of Expansion Region (Cambodia and Myanmar), Corentin Rouxel said Grab plans to improve its service and attract more passengers by leveraging the strength of its technology, operations and ecosystem.
“For our ride-hailing services, we will continue to raise the bar on safety. We are currently rolling out a new safety feature: passengers and driver-partners on our Mobility services are now required to verify their identity. This will further protect their account against fraud and will make the platform safer for all our Mobility services users, passengers and driver-partners alike,” Rouxel said.
Grab sees more opportunities in on-demand grocery, given the large market and low online penetration, he added.
“For GrabMart, we plan to roll out new product features and enhancements to improve the consumer and merchant experience. This will include introducing cashless payment as an additional option for consumers to conveniently pay for their GrabMart orders, and back-end tools that will enable merchants to more easily monitor and prepare incoming orders,” he said.
Rouxel said Grab is continuing to study the use of electric vehicles on the streets of Asia and has pilot projects with governments, vehicle manufacturers, and charging infrastructure providers in some countries.
Last year Grab introduced a carbon offset feature with AirCarbon, allowing Cambodian passengers the option to buy offsets to their rides for a small fee. The carbon credits go towards the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary conservation programme in Mondulkiri province.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
