Devott Insights: The Hot Apps of “Internet + Life Services” - Enumeration of Several Taxi Apps
Source: Chnsourcing.com.cn View: 216 Date: 2015-06-09

The author has mainly analyzed several mainstream taxi apps as well as made induction and summary on their modes and features according to a series of hot issues such as Kuaidi Taxi gained 600 million USD financing, merge of Didi and Kuaidi, deep cooperation between Uber & Baidu in Chinese market, giants of BAT enter into taxi area, aipinche shut down the server as well as the negotiations between The Transportation Committees in each locations and taxi software enterprises:

The first one is to clarify that service objects and service principal are the bases of success. The principal of “passengers first, owners second and platform third” has been widely agreed. Therefore, no matter for passengers or for owners, the driven power must be transformed from profit to value in the future.

The second one is to sort out business mode clearly. From the aspect of users’ experiences, passengers and owners are equally important, because both of them are users and connectors of platform. Therefore, it is necessary to design the functions and services of the platform from two dimensions. However, should think about which side’s benefits should be maximized between passengers and owners. From analysis theory of market economy, passengers are terminal users; it’s important to establish the platform apps and service concepts which take the excavation of passengers’ needs as the core.

The third one is that to pursuit investment institution has become hot issue in capital market. There have been more than 20 taxi apps gaining financing in 2014; the total amount of financing has over 20 million USD. So there is no doubt that the war of burning moneywill be further fiercer. According to recent results, some companies have held their position in the market gradually; on the contrary that some failed.

The fourth one is the gradual integration of industry and finally results in the survival of fittest. From today’s pinche market, there are three main software platforms such as Uber, Dida and Kuaiche, at the same time exist other small brands such as ipin, AA, Haha, Tiantian, 51. In future, with the industrial integration and competition, there will be a situation of “several glad & several sorrows”. It is expected that no more than 2 or 3 mainstream professional service platforms will exist in the market. For example, ipin has closed its car service.

The fifth one is to expand profit model as well as to innovate the product and service model of platform. The profit model of major taxi apps is investing lots of money at the initial stage to stabilize their market. Therefore the expectable profit in early period is nothing but the benefit from funds staying and the flow share from platform entrance. In the future, there will be more services such as social platform, construction of own funs club, etc.

The sixth one is needs the relative free market and necessary industry rules urgently. There are several problems need to solve such as how to balance taxi and pinche markets, how to identify industrial boundary, standardize the industrial conflicts and cope with a series of potential problems on passengers’ security, etc. by relevant state departments. The relative departments should be required to handle, control and solve the problems under the mode of “internet + taxi”.

This post is a personal or group view of Research and Advisory members and don't necessarily represent Devott's positions, strategies or opinions.

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