TaxiMonger scraps driver subscription and upfront customer fees

• Hopes new cost-structure will encourage smaller taxi companies to come on board
• Also introduces new personal safety feature in its Android version

STARTUP TaxiMonger, after two months of public beta testing and another two months of commercialization, has decided to scrap the monthly subscription fee for drivers as well as the upfront payment customers had to pay for booking a ride, and has also integrated some new features.
 
TaxiMonger, launched in April, allows the general public to book taxis using the Web or an Android phone, the company said in a statement.
 
Effective Aug 1, a customer is not required to make upfront payment for booking a taxi. Instead, the booking fee (of RM2) will be added to the meter and paid directly to the taxi-driver.
 
As for the taxi-drivers, the previous monthly subscription fee of RM50 has been scrapped. With a zero monthly obligation, a taxi-driver now is only obliged to pay TaxiMonger RM1.50 per booking without any commission on the taxi-meter revenue.
 
The company hopes the new cost structure will attract more drivers to join its network. It also claimed that by the end of August, it is slated to sign a service agreement with a taxi company which would add to its fleet of more than 900 taxis.
 
Meanwhile, the Android version has been integrated with SecQ.me to incorporate a personal safety feature. When a passenger gets into a taxi booked from TaxiMonger, she would be instantaneously monitored by a virtual bodyguard. If she is threatened under any emergency situations, her loved ones will be notified with a tracking page of her last known location and with information on the taxi.
 
TaxiMonger, developed in Malaysia but with global aspirations, says it is currently undergoing an international acceleration program in Dubai with SeedStartup, an affiliate of US-based accelerator TechStars network.
 
“Successful growth in Kuala Lumpur would help TaxiMonger expand into other major cities not only in South-East Asia but also in the Middle ,” said TaxiMonger founder Nizran Noordin.
 
The taxi app space has been heating up in Malaysia, with another startup called MyTeksi competing in the same market and even the Malaysian Taxi Drivers, Limousine and Car Rental Operators Association saying it was developing its own mobile app called Comcab.