Brazil's free taxi-booking mobile app now in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - Easy Taxi, a Brazilian company that developed a taxi-booking application, is now in Cebu not only to take advantage of the fast growing digital savvy market, but also to help standardize the service of taxi service here.

Easy Taxi penetrated the Philippine market since a year ago in Manila, and is now tapping local taxi operators to be part of the global network of mobile app for safe transport.

In an interview with Easy Taxi chief executive officer and country manager for the Philippines Daniel Torres, he said that the company is seeing a strong demand for this kind of service in the Philippines, despite the existence of similar locally-developed apps.

Torres emphasized the company's expertise in this kind of service, which is now available in 32 countries.

Aside from giving taxi drivers attractive incentives, Torres said the company is also focused on educating the drivers on world-class customer service, making emphasis on providing safety assurance to passengers.

While Cebu's tourism stakeholders had been advocating good "culture of tourism" specifically among taxi drivers who are considered as one of the "frontliners" in the tourism sector. The entry of Easy Taxi here is seen to contribute to the realization of this this goal through it's intensive training and education program for the drivers.

Torres said have strict screening policies and only partners with reputable taxi operators so as also to protect its name and to assure the safety of the passengers.

Easy Taxi, the world's largest, free taxi-hailing mobile application, connects drivers and passengers in the easiest, safest, and most efficient way.

To date, the Easy Taxi mobile application has reached over 2 million downloads worldwide.

Easy Taxi was founded in Brazil in 2011 but has a local advocacy of improving the image of the Philippines' transportation industry as safe, modern, and efficient.

Smart Mobile is one of the partners of Easy Taxi in the country.

In the Philippines, the passengers and the taxi leasing companies share the booking fees. Although, now on its promotional stage offering free-booking service, Torres hinted that in Cebu, the company may only charge an average of P20 as booking fee.

The company is funded by the biggest e-commerce incubator in the world, Rocket Internet, and some private investors eyeing global expansion in Asia and Africa.

Rocket Internet has been creating e-commerce ecosystems in the Philippines through its popular clothing brands, Zalora and Lazada, which are known for their fast delivery and reliable customer service.