99Taxis launches service to compete with transport applications

SÃO PAULO-99Taxis announced on Monday that it will have from September a service option that will compete directly with urban transport applications companies like Uber and Cabify in São Paulo, which have conquered space in the largest city of the country in a moment of consumers retracted and an eye on price.
The brazilian company, founded in 2012, as had been concentrating on the market of taxi drivers, said it will take until the beginning of next month 1,000 registered drivers for a service "grey sheet" in São Paulo.
The term refers to the color of the plates of vehicles driven by private drivers who drive their own cars or third parties to meet races created by mobile application, similar to services offered by American company Uber and the Spanish Cabify.
"From January until today, the taxi races fell approximately to 40% because of the price. If we continue working with cab we have much less ability to compete and strengthen the taxi system, "said the public relations manager of 99, Richard Kauffman.
The announcement takes place at a time of intense competition for passengers in the city of São Paulo and other cities in the country. The Uber said in February it had meta to add 50000 new drivers in Brazil before about of 10000 and Cabify launched services in the city at the end of may, attracting over 7000 candidates to drive for the company''s application. Sao Paulo still had this year the arrival of indiana WillGo.
The 99Taxis has currently about 30000 registered taxi drivers in your application in São Paulo city and Kauffman said the company plans to expand the grey Board offer to other cities, such as Rio de Janeiro.
The company, which today offers service in 300 cities in the country, has received a total of $ 40,000,000 from the Foundation and between the investors international groups as Tiger Global and Monashees. The company hit financial equilibrium, but Kauffman gave no further details, although adding that the 99 has enlarged corporate client base, with 300 companies becoming customers of the platform in July.
According to him, the gray card service will be called Pop and from August 31 will be appended to the application users '' 99. The 1,000 drivers will be chosen among the best registered on the platform, with preference to taxi drivers, he said. The cars will have to have up to 5 years of use before 8 years set out in the recent legislation passed in the State capital that opened space for transport services by applications.
Kauffman said the Pop service will discounting above 20% on the price of the taxi races. "The drivers will be able to access a passenger who today does not use taxi no way," he said.
The taxi drivers who do not have permits can also fail to pay rent to whom has this permission to work daily and the fleet owners, said he. "Today, the fleet driver starts the day 150 real negatives," said Kauffman, referring to the rates paid by taxi drivers without permits.
For the user, when the race is accepted by Pop a taxi driver, the race can be made through the corridors of the city bus, said Kauffman, creating a differential in respect of private drivers.