Taxi app Gett builds coalition to counter Uber

To compete, Gett is working with similar services around the world to make their apps cross-compatible.

By NIV ELIS
The design for a driverless Google taxi. (photo credit: Courtesy)
The design for a driverless Google taxi.
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Gett, the Israel-based taxi ordering app company, is helping to build a global coalition to counter its bigger, better- known US-based rival Uber.
Uber has been valued at $62 billion, in part because of its global reach and also because it offers cabs and ride-shares through its apps.
However, says Nadav Zohar, Getts VP Corporate Development, in many local markets (including Israel), Uber is still the second choice.
One of the problems smaller, international competitors face is that tourists and business people are likely to use the service they know with the app already installed on their phone.
“Uber is still #1 in the US, but in China and India, local champions are significantly bigger than Uber,” says Zohar.
To compete, Gett is working with similar services around the world including Ola in India, DD in China, GrabTaxi in southeast Asia and 99Taxis in Brazil, to make their apps cross-compatible.
A Gett user from Israel traveling in China, for example, would be able to simply open Gett and a DD cab would come and collect them. The interface would remain the same, and the charge would go directly to their card.
“The coalition would be larger than Uber, simply because the biggest players are significantly bigger than Uber in those locations and the sheer number of rides is higher,” Zohar said.
Gett is also working with partners such as Expedia and other travel apps to help customers book end-to-end trips.
Instead of just a flight itinerary, they hope to integrate rides to and from the airport with Gett and one of its international partners.
But for now, the coalition- building is still in the process and not yet available to users.
“The technology is being developed, but it’s a natural solution, just like mobile operators,” Zohar says, referencing deals that allow customers of Israeli cellular companies to roam on international networks when traveling.