Line Taxi launches, gives Uber first major challenger in Japan Finally, Japan gets a taxi war of its own. China has Didi Dache versus Kuadi Dache. India has Ola and TaxiForSure. GrabTaxi and EasyTaxi are duking it out across Southeast Asia. Even Vietnam has a Tolkien-esque battle of five armies. But Japan? It was enjoying a serene peace under the benevolent (and rarely surge-priced) Uber with only a distant challenger in the Osaka-based Hailo to be considered. Today, Line changed the game by adding a new wrinkle to its messenging app – Line Taxi. Line Taxi is not available as a separate download. Like the recently unveiled Line Pay, it is accessible via the main messaging app. Payment is carried out via a credit card registered to Line Pay, so much of the user experience is essentially identical to Uber. Use GPS to identify your position, request a cab, and pay without needing to reach for your wallet. Line has partnered with Nihon Kotsu, the nation’s largest taxi company. Japanese taxis are already well-known for their discrete, white-glove wearing drivers, satin covered back seats, and automatically opening doors, so the ride itself should not be a big step down from a black car service. That said, Nihon Kotsu does not have fleets of leather-trimmed BMW 7 Series sedans and Mercedes C-classes like Uber. The service will first only be available in Tokyo and neighboring Mitaka and Musashino cities. The company says that it will announce shortly expansion to other cities. That expansion is what could be the biggest differentiator for Line in its fight against Uber. 3,340 Nihon Kotsu taxis in the Tokyo region will be equipped to pick up customers using Line Taxi. In total, Nihon Kotsu has about 23,000 cars covering Japan. It remains to be seen how many of those drivers, a good number of whom are excellent at their jobs but less fluent in GPS technology, will actually be using the app proactively. Uber also has a deal with a local cab company for its fleet of Uber Taxis but, speaking from personal experience, there are rarely more than a handful available around the city at any given time. Early use of both apps shows Line Taxi with better coverage and shorter wait times than Uber. At Shinjuku Station, one of Tokyo’s most trafficked areas, Uber had no taxis (or taxi luxes) available. It had one black car with a 21-minute wait time. Line Taxi had five taxis in the area and only a five minute wait. Similar comparisons at Tokyo Station, and farther out spots like Kichioji and Shimokitazawa also showed Line Taxi to be better prepared. It must be noted, however, that Uber’s lack of cars might be indicating high demand for a known service. It is unlikely that the average consumer knows Line Taxi launched an hour ago. Unlike Uber, Line Taxi is, for now, a decidedly domestic product. Line Pay requires the user to have a Japanese driver’s license or insurance card, as well as a Japanese credit card. If the service does not become more foreigner friendly, it will be unable to completely drive Uber out of Japan. Delivering directions via GPS and paying wirelessly will always be a major boon for foreign travelers – 20 million of whom are expected to visit Japan yearly by 2020. That’s a big chunk of the pie considering Japan’s population is at 127 million and falling. However, when Line Taxi was first previewed in October, the company said that it will take the service global, so an English interface is likely to be offered in the future. Though it might have a good shot at gaining traction in Japan, international advancement seems far less certain. Barring some very skillful dealmaking, Line will not have a major advantage in car numbers. Its biggest strength will be its brand recognition, but even that might not be enough. Uber’s epitaph is unlikely to be written in stickers and emoji. See: 10 taxi apps you can use across Asia This post Line Taxi launches, gives Uber first major challenger in Japan appeared first on Tech in Asia.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 09:50:02 +0000
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