In order to combat the likes of Uber, GrabCar and the rest, a new taxi-hailing app has been introduced. Dubbed MesraCab, the mobile application is said to have been “developed wholly by taxi drivers,” according to a report by The Star. The app is slated to be launched in February 2016 – said app is currently undergoing a trial phase. As a result, all journeys booked under the trial period are completely free of charge.
“This app uses 100% metered taxis which have been approved by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD),” commented Apriman Darlis, secretary for the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Application Taxi Drivers Association (Pertapps). A total of “over 100 taxi drivers” are reported to have registered as MesraCab drivers.
When the app is fully operational in February 2016, MesraCab users will be charged a RM2 booking fee for each successful hail – the money will go to the respective driver. While official rates have yet to be announced (it is not mentioned if it will differ from regular budget taxi rates), users whose journeys cover less than a 10-km radius will not be charged more than the RM2 booking fee.
As mentioned, over 100 drivers have registered to be MesraCab drivers as of November 1. Said drivers were required to register with one of the 23 associations present, which represent some “15,000 drivers”, who fall under the committee’s umbrella. The drivers will then be vetted before they are allowed to be registered as MesraCab drivers. “This is so that the committee can help regulate the industry,” added Darlis.
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Even the teksi drivers themselves recognize the need to improve their service. So, what’s the point of harassing Uber and Myteksi drivers in the first place?
Running a business is actually addressing a problem. The problem in our transportation industry is the lack of accountability on the part of industry players. We all know the details.
Uber and Myteksi simply provide the solution to the lingering problem.
this just shows they want the pie for themselves :D
old potong saga with new tech on booking apps..
Better take BM with uber
isnt Mesra already an existing taxi company like Public or Saujana?
good positive thinking – way to move forward!
The way to move forward is first remove all their stinky vehicles. Next improve their stinky attitude. That’s all we are asking for.
nowadays there are not many uber drivers due to the lower incentive. Uber has riders’ interest in mind more than drivers.
well it would be good it is centralize and consumers are able to pay by credit card and estimate pricing. This way it further filters out those gangsters syndicate. With meter also centralize it will be able to tell which cab is being funny, and consumers are able to complain direct. But, is this so? Not enough info so far. Wait and see, but I doubt it la. Time to totally revamp the METER and be replace with a digital one for at least KV http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/29/flywheels-taxios-aims-to-replace-old-school-cab-meters/
the app doesn’t mention if the rider can rate the taxi driver. if the app doesn’t allow so, this app going to fail big time.
it’s time to nab those arrogant taxi drivers and boot them out from this industry forever.
How is this suppose to take on Uber? The taxis are run by the same group of people that the public are trying to avoid by going to Uber. Also who came out with the advertisement above? The taxi drivers?
IOMA,you are right.
U want to hail a cab operated by these gangsters?
Look at their angry faces.
We r just making it easier for ourselves to get conned.
Kick them out.Legalise UBER and others that can provide better service.
i smell anoter get-rich-quick scheme, somebody behind the scenes want to grab share if tis lucrative bisnis model while the real taxi drivers still need to pay rent and struggles..they r fighting the wrong enemy
Does this apps GPS is accurate?
new method same old shit also got use meh?
RM 2.00 flat rate for first 10 km sounds hard 2 believe!
How 2 earn a living esp driving within the jammed packed KL city centre!
Anyway! very friendly to consumers pocket.
Tycoon, dont get it wrong. Rm2 is the booking fee. Not including ride fare yet.
The whole idea of taking Uber / myteksi / grabcar are due to the unsatisfactory services provided by the taxis due to limited / no supervision by their organization / boss. Now their very own organization / boss are coming up an application just to counter their competitors but not addressing the public outcry. Well done in solving the problem but is our problem an issue to them to begin with?.
Well, there is already myteksi. So why come up with another app? I can tell you why : these taxi drivers who form the drivers in mesracab are probably those who are rejected by myteksi due to poor performance and negative feedback. So because they cannot be part of myteksi, they come out with mesracab. So you guys better avoid these guys at all costs because these are the bad apples in the taxi industry.
Well, i wonder about it too. Instead of improving the current one, but they launch a new apps. Anyway, it is still too early to judge it for now. Let’s see what the feedbacks they have after this.
I have an experience with Uber which the driver simply take the longer route while help ntg on the traffic jam, eventually cost me more for the ride. After my feedback, uber refund more than 50% of my ride fare which is very unexpected! Their service really amazed me.
Consumer, that’s why you are forced to rate your driver on Uber. If you think your driver has taken you on a longer route, then rate him 1-2 stars. Once he drops below a minimum star rating, Uber disassociates this driver. So out goes the rotten apples! This is how myteksi, grabcar and uber ensures that their drivers are doing a fantastic job. Since the good drivers are maintained in these apps, you can guess who are the ones with the placards and protesting: these are the same ones who would be part of mesracab.
In my humble opinion, I don’t think that’s a fair way to rate Uber drivers. The drivers are instructed by Uber to use navigation such Waze or Google Maps to get to their destination unless the passenger has a preferred route. And because these navigation applications takes into account traffic information, it may follow a longer route but supposedly faster route. You can always advise the driver to use your preferred route instead if giving them a low rating for following Uber’s instructions.
On the matter of Uber’s rating, if i’m not mistaken the drivers need to maintain a minimum rating of 4.3, with 5 being the highest rating. I believe this rating system is flawed simply because giving the driver a rating of 4 or below is equivalent to saying the driver should lose his job. I’m also guilty of giving a few 4 stars rating thinking that 4 out of 5 stars is good. After knowing the rating system i only give 5 stars unless its a bad driver that should be out of Uber.
I never know that 4 is bad for them. Most of the time i give 4 only, holy(feel sorry)
Yes, i do agreed we shld not simply low rating them. But for my case, beside using the longer route, the driver actually missed junction but he just keep quiet and pretend ntg had happen. I have np to pay extra few more bucks, but he need to be honest to his passenger.
The BM advert is already a huge turnoff
This is seriously pathetic. They think they could simply make this and take away marketshare from myteksi as a way to take revenge against them or compete with private cars.
It will do nothing good to stir up ridesharing competition therefore its not even worth our time to consider this.
I don’t trust any company that uses Comic sans in their promo ad.
MesraCab..? bahahahaha.. bet it’ll later turn into GangsterCab instead.. where the customer gets harassed and conned to no end..