Uber plans to expand driver
Uber expects 100,000 drivers to support its mobile-application-based ride-sharing service next year, up from 30,000 partners now.
It also targets a three-minute response time from when a customer calls to the time of arrival of the car. Currently the average pick-up time or estimated time of arrival is 5.5 minutes. Chan Park, general manager for Southeast Asia, said yesterday that the company had now served more than a million rides on its platform. There are some 10,000 customers per week and about 20 per cent of them are active.
Of the 30,000 car-driver members, 20 per cent earn Bt30,000 per month, with Bt134,000 the highest.
The areas of highest demand for Uber are Ratchaprasong, Sathorn and Sukhumvit.
Since last year, about 2 million people called for a ride but it could serve only 85 per cent of them. The company aims to improve its service ratio to about 90 per cent next year.
Growth for its service since last year is fivefold and for its newer Uber X service is 12-fold since its launch six months ago.
"Thailand is a huge potential market. The firm’s business focus will be consumer-centric so that it will create business opportunities in Thailand.
"It also has plans to expand to big cities in the next step," said Barry Levy, acting manager director of Uber Thailand.
Next year will see UberPool, a carpool concept using Uber’s technologies. It allows people heading for the same destination along a similar route to share a ride and split the cost.
The company now provides Uber Black and Uber X in Thailand. Uber Black is a limousine service and Uber X a more affordable service, for both individual and corporate users.
Uber Black’s fares start at Bt50 and rise by Bt2.50 per minute of travel and Bt14 per kilometre, while Uber X charges Bt25 plus Bt1 per minute and Bt4.50 per kilometre.
