Easy to compete with Uber with ride-sharing app
Latin American transport app Easy plans to go head to head with Uber in Chile with a new ride sharing app it says can compete on price.
The launch of Easy Economy on January 16 will see the company expanding in Chile beyond the traditional taxi app, which the company operates in 12 countries in the region and 420 cities worldwide.
Easy Economy will initially be launched in Santiago, Iquique, la Serena and Coquimbo and soon be expanded to other cities including Conception.
The news comes the same week that Uber announced the launch of its X service in four new cities: Iquique, La Serena, Temuco and Puerto Montt.
A pilot run by Easy showed its Economy service to be 24% cheaper than Uber and 20% cheaper than Cabify. The company explains the cheaper costs by charging its drivers a 15% commission per ride compared to Uber's 25%.
BNamericas reached out to Uber for comment, and its communications team said the company does not comment on competitors.
Chile is not the first Latin American country in the region where Easy has begun to compete with Uber. The service has been launched in Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Argentina, where it is called Easy Go, surpassing expectations, its marketing manager Patricio Morel told BNamericas.
According to Morel, the idea is to compete with Uber's most basic service, Uber X, and not Uber Black or the Cabify service, which also targets a higher-end customer.
That said, the executive feels the company has the advantage of being able to target three markets: those interested in a traditional taxi app, a ride-sharing app and companies seeking a radio taxi service.
Like Uber, Easy will allow customers to pay in cash, and will also accept credit cards in local currency, which avoids the conversion fees from US dollars, Morel said.
REGULATION
Currently there is no specific regulation for ride-sharing apps in Chile, falling into a grey area. Authorities have struggled to come up with a regulatory framework. That said Chile has not seen violent protests from taxi drivers as have Argentina, Mexico and Brazil.
"We're in favor of the authorities regulating the industry and have participated in working groups with the transport ministry," Morel said. "With regulation, this will improve the service for the consumer and conditions for drivers and push down prices."
Uber has been accused of arbitrarily pushing up prices at peak times, something that Morel says Easy would not do.
The executive said he doesn't expect the new service to cause conflict Easy's traditional taxi service, saying that in the consumer's mind ride-sharing apps and traditional taxi apps are different services that don't compete directly.
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