MyTeksi Vs Easy Taxi Vs Uber. Which Transportation App Did Better?

MyTeksi may have been dominating the local taxi scene in Malaysia but with competitors such as Easy Taxi and ride sharing service Uber lurking behind with similar services, can MyTeksi prove itself as a market leader?

As this is an app review, the app is judged based on these criteria: visual design, functionality, payment system, the fare, experience and the reliability of the app. The service of the driver is not taken into consideration for this review unless stated.

MyTeksi: For MyTeksi, it's easily identifiable green and black colours is evident in the app. The app is bright, visually attractive and simple. However, there is too much clutter in terms of how many taxis are availability of taxis in the area.

Easy Taxi: Easy Taxi's app is also strongly visualised with its orange and black branding, similar to the New York city cab. A plus point is that it has the "Request Taxi" button displayed at the bottom, making it easy for passengers to request a taxi. In their iOS version, the app is gorgeously designed but it can't be said the same for their Android app. Perhaps it should be streamlined to give users the same user experience.

Uber: Uber's app gives a premium feel to the user thanks to it's black and grey colour schemes. Once you open the app, you'll be greeted with a minimalistic interface that is pleasing on the eye. No clutter, no mess, just clean lines and only a simple display to let you know where you're located and a sign whether cars are available in the area.

MyTeksi: Where MyTeksi lacks in design, it compensates in terms of functionality. As a passenger looking for a taxi, inputting data should be easy. MyTeksi does this brilliantly with all the forms you need to fill all in a single page. Where you are, the destination and even the estimated fare. The amount of taxis in your area also helps the user know that there are plenty of taxis to choose from.

Easy Taxi: Although Easy Taxi has a big "Request Taxi" button at the bottom of the app, it gets bad from there. Once a user clicks on it, they are prompted to fill in more information about the destination, their details, etc. In summary, it's not as user friendly as a lot of navigation is needed to get the desired result. The amount of available taxis are not shown until the user confirms for one.

Uber: Unlike the two taxi apps, Uber is a ride sharing service. In terms of functionality, it may be a little confusing for a first time user to navigate through the app thanks to the minimalistic approach. However, once users are familiarised to the design, going through the app is a breeze.

MyTeksi: MyTeksi does not earn anything from the user, and the fare is paid directly to the driver in cash.

Easy Taxi: Easy Taxi operates similarly like MyTeksi where users pay their driver in cash. If you prefer to pay your fare in cash, you can't go wrong with these apps. However, one thing that puts them above MyTeksi is that they allow credit card payments. This allows users to either choose cash or credit and is a huge advantage over competitors. A huge win for them!

Uber: This is one of Uber's selling points. Instead of paying cash directly to the driver, the fare is deducted from the debit or credit card of the passenger. This makes it very convenient for the passenger as it is convenient and eliminates the need for the exact amount. The receipts are paperless too.

MyTeksi: MyTeksi offers two products, the normal budget taxi service and GrabTaxi, the more premium taxi service. The thing about MyTeksi and Easy Taxi is that they don't charge users for using the service. Only a nominal booking fee of RM2 is charged on top of the fare. Therefore, if a trip to One Utama by hailing a cab is RM7, expect the final fee to be RM9.

Easy Taxi: As said previously, only RM2 is charged to the user on top of their fare fee. The rates follow the standard taxi rates set by the government. However, in order to lure more customers, coupons and promotions are given to passengers to get a discount. This makes both taxi app services popular among both drivers and passengers.

Uber: Uber also has two product offerings, UberBlack, and UberX. UberX starts at a base rate of RM1.50 per kilometre and 0.55 cents per kilometre. Whereas their more premium offering starts at a RM3 base fare before charging RM1.15 per kilometre after. On paper, it may seem that Uber is cheaper and rightly so with some exceptions. Uber is definitely cheaper when it comes to shorter distances but on long distance trips, it may be very expensive. Therefore MyTeksi may thrive where Uber fails.

MyTeksi: Getting a MyTeksi driver is easy but the main problem is that you don't know which driver you're getting. The average experience is just, average. There are very good and courteous drivers but on the other hand, there are days where you get sub par ones. This is one problem that both MyTeksi and Easy Taxi face.

Easy Taxi: As said before, this is a recurring problem that both MyTeksi and Easy Taxi face. Better quality control is needed to ensure that taxis are clean, comfortable and the drivers are friendly and safe. Not all are bad, it is just that the few bad apples are tarnishing the image of the industry.

Uber: You get what you pay for. A premium service where the driver treats you like a king. The cars are well maintained, comfortable and the drivers are friendly. Even on their budget offering, the standard of service is consistent. By controlling the quality of drivers, passengers know that they'll be getting a good service no matter what. This is one advantage Uber has over MyTeksi and Easy Taxi.

MyTeksi: MyTeksi has a large amount of drivers available in major cities and townships. Getting a taxi is easy as within minutes a driver would be available and on the way.

Easy Taxi: Since Easy Taxi's drivers are all budget taxis, finding them isn't that difficult. The service is reliable depending on the location and time. Usually, these apps work well in high density and packed areas. Sometimes, getting a taxi may be difficult during peak hours but this is the same using other apps.

Uber: One of the problems people face using Uber is the high chance of it being unavailable. Uber is mostly concentrated in Kuala Lumpur and therefore if you're in areas like Petaling Jaya or Subang, getting one is slightly difficult.

Uber narrowly beats out local taxi app MyTeksi and Easy Taxi. With it's cashless payment system, the beautiful design and the experience, Uber is the one to follow. However, it has some weaknesses as well, with MyTeksi and Easy Taxi keen to capitalise on them. MyTeksi is definitely ahead when it comes to functionality while Easy Taxi has the edge over payments. The apps need to be streamlined in terms of design so that the experience is the same for users on different mobile platforms.