Will the homegrown app-based cab service OTaxi prove to be another success story like Careem in the region? Only time will tell. For now, it has shown that a good concept if implemented diligently can be a base for phenomenal growth.
The app-based ride aggregator, which completed its first year in operations on February 28, has multiplied its business as well as revenue thousand-folds over the past year.
From just 30 rides in the first month to 30,000 in February 2019, Harith al Maqbali, CEO of OTaxi, has taken the company from a startup to a full-fledged revenue generating company.
Buoyed by the promise of the venture, Oman Technology Fund (OTF), a government-owned entity for investing in upcoming technology firms, has picked up a stake in OTaxi. “We have entered into a strategic relationship with OTF,” said Maqbali.
The company is adding about 20 cars every week to its ever-growing fleet of 450 taxis currently. It will start offering credit/debit card payment facility by the end of this month, a move that will take convenience of hiring a cab to the next level.
Maqbali said that the next move is to spread to other cities. “We are working on expansion of our services to Sohar and Salalah.”
By law, OTaxi is not permitted to take customers from Muscat airport, hotels and malls. Even with a limited-playing field, the company has grown exponentially. “We account for 70 per cent of the market share. This is not only because our rides are most economical among the competitors, but also because we offer safety, reliability and quality.”
Price and affordability is just one element, added Maqbali. “We are quickest in the market too. It takes about an average of less than nine minutes for our cars to be at the service of the customer (booking time to arrival time).”
Although the idea of the company was first conceived in 2014, it took some years of trial and error before OTaxi could launch full-fledged operations last year. Technical and resource issues had made the initial years of operations problematic, but with Maqbali leaving his private sector job in 2018 to be a full-time CEO at the company brought returns sooner than later. “We are an Omani company run by an all-Omani staff. Our call centre and taxis operate 24x7 to serve customers.”
OTaxi charges 190bz per kilometre, however the minimum fare is RO1.5.