PicknGo is the latest entry into the e-hailing market in Malaysia; this time catering to taxi drivers who want a level playing field. Pick n Go Sdn Bhd is a joint venture by several taxi consortiums, representing some 10,000 registered drivers throughout Malaysia.
PicknGo connects passengers and taxi drivers in the same way that other ridesharing apps do. Thanks to its connection to taxi consortiums, there are already thousands of drivers on the platform.
Valerie Chan, director of Pick n Go, says that the benefit of the platform is that there is no surge pricing and consistent fares. According to Chan, this is due to the fare structure being decided by the Land Public Transport Commission; leaving passengers with more certainty as to how much their rides will be charged.
Ridesharing companies often increase fares during times of high demand to encourage more drivers to get on the roads. This policy has not existed without some controversy, particularly on Uber’s part.
PicknGo is also planning to implement a panic button by the time the service launches in August. Which is technically required, as SPAD has directed all e-hailing apps – including Grab and Uber – to install an emergency SOS function into their apps.
The PicknGo app itself is remarkably similar to that of Grab and Uber, though this should not be surprising as the goal is to mimic the UIs of the popular ride-sharing apps to make the user experience better. Despite this, it appears to lack the polish and intuitive user interfaces found on the competition. Setting a pick up point is easy enough, but there’s no option to drop a pin on the destination. In fact, users have to manually scroll on the map if they want to look at where they are going.
Curiously, the settings menu in the app doesn’t work at all. As in tapping on it doesn’t do anything.
Still, PicknGo will only officially launch on 7 August; which means that there is still time to work on the app. Those curious about how it works can already download it from the Google Play and Apple App stores. Although it should noted that the Android version of the app lists MapKing International Ltd as the developer; showing that the actual building of the app was outsourced to Hong Kong.
[Source: New Straits Times]
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