Taxify, an Estonian copycat of Uber, started operating in Ukraine last month, reported Ukrainian high tech blog AIN.UA. The service has already enrolled 20 drivers to offer rides in Kyiv (Kiev) after training at Taxify’s office.
While Taxify’s user interface and pricing are identical to those of Uber, the Estonian service takes a 15% commission fee on rides, well below Uber’s 25%.
The minimum price of a ride is 25 hryvnias ($1 at the current exchange rate), with additional $0.2 paid for each kilometer. Payment can be made both in cash or by credit card.
“We see a huge potential in Ukraine, primarily thanks to the popularity of ride-sharing services, which will increase in the future. European standards are now penetrating all the service industries, and the taxi market in particular,” Ukrainian publication Novoe Vremia (‘New Time’) quoted Taxify’s CEO Markus Viling as saying.
$1.93 million to compete with Uber
Taxify launched in 2013 in Estonia. The car-hailing service then expanded to the Czech Republic, Finland, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, Romania, Hungary, South Africa, Belarus, Nigeria, Kenya, the Netherlands, Mexico and Ghana.
Since its inception, the startup has raised a total of $1.93 million from nine investors.
Meanwhile, Uber, which launched its service in Ukraine this summer, introduced its premium offer UberSELECT last month. The new service allows passengers to select Uber’s “best rated drivers who offer a first-class experience, in a newer car, at an economical price”.
Earlier this year Slovakian ride-hailing service Hopin also entered the Ukrainian market.
A domestic startup, Wintaxi, was also in the running until recently, but seems to have shut down this service this summer.
Source: AIN.UA (1, 2), Taxify, CrunchBase, Uber.
