Ride sharing service Easy Taxi has confirmed its exit from all Asian markets. The news does not come as a total surprise, considering that the company has been on a downward spiral for the last couple of years. Easy Taxi will now double down on efforts in its native South America, where it has a stronger hold than the competition.
Easy Taxi had been scaling down Asian operations prior to the most recent announcement. The country pulled out of India in late 2014; and shut down offices in Pakistan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore in 2015. It had also laid off around 20 staff members from its Malaysian office last year. Despite these setbacks, the company refused to admit that it was facing any sort of difficulty.
No reasons were provided for Easy Taxi’s exit from Asia, although it faced considerable competition from Uber and GrabTaxi. While Easy Taxi was one of the earliest players in the Asian market, it failed to maintain its position in the face of opponents who had more funds available.
At its peak, Easy Taxi operated in 420 cities across the world; with 20 locations in Asia. The majority of its services are still operating in Latin America, where the rides-sharing service enjoys a greater reach than Uber. It is in this region that Easy Taxi appears to be retreating to; and perhaps rebuild a presence strong enough to stave off the inevitable arrival of Uber.
[Source: TechCrunch]
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