Motion Digest Network

Two weeks after Malaysian-born ride-hailing giant Grab made the largest-ever venture fundraising in Southeast Asia, an alliance of several Malaysian taxi companies has launched a new e-hailing app called PICKnGO.

Officially rolled out on August 7, the app aims to register 10,000 licensed taxi drivers across the Klang Valley region. To provide convenience, PICKnGO will also provide MPay +Pro mobile point-of-sale (POS) terminals in its taxis to allow cashless payments.

“Every PICKnGO taxi driver has undergone training and their vehicles inspected before they are confirmed. We are transforming the mindsets of both our customers and our drivers,” says Valerie Chan, PICK n Go Sdn Bhd executive director, on the booking app’s commitment to better customer service.

According to a previous press statement last June, PICKnGO will also incorporate an SOS button in all its taxis as well as provide real-time tracking of a taxi for its intended passenger — similar to ride-sharing competitors.

One area where PICKnGO differs from the likes of Uber and Grab, however, is that it will offer consistent metered charges with no peak surcharges.

The taxi booking app is a collaboration between New Supercab Sdn Bhd, Uptownace (M) Sdn Bhd, Damai Kota Cab Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Pemandu dan Pemilik Teksi Bhd and Perniagaan Lima Sejati Sdn Bhd.

The launch of PICKnGO is the first major move from the taxi industry to keep up with ride-hailing service providers such as Uber and Grab since the Malaysian Parliament passed two bills aimed at legalising such services in late July.

While the bills still need to go through the Senate and receive Royal Assent before they could be gazetted into law, the remaining process is not expected to see hurdles.

In March, an umbrella association of taxi companies and associations in Peninsular Malaysia proposed to adopt Uber’s app for some 500 taxis across the peninsular, but the brakes were slammed on the proposal after heavy protests from other taxi companies.

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