However, the authorities have yet to enforce regulations on foreign ride-hailing companies.

With Uber having pulled out of Myanmar last year, Singapore’s Grab is now the only international ride-hailing application operating in the country. It is also by far the largest, capturing the lion’s share of the market.

In fact, local taxi service companies like Hello Cabs and Oway Ride are no match against Grab, as they are simply not financially equipped to offer the same level of promotions and incentives to their riders and drivers.

On April 4, the Yangon Division Transport Workers’ Union (YDTWU) held a press conference urging the regional government to set laws and by-laws enabling fair competition between local and international ride hailing companies.

The YDTWU was formed in 2012 and has since garnered more than 1400 members. However, the union has yet to receive an official certificate from the government.

“We understand that the foreign ride-hailing companies want local competitors seek legal jurisdiction in their country of origin in the event that we are unhappy about how they are operating in Myanmar,” said U Maung Maung Oo, chair of YDTWU, during the press conference.

“We cannot accept that. Instead of following foreign countries’ laws, foreign companies should follow the laws in Myanmar as they are investing here and profiting from us,” he added.

The 20 percent commission Grab receives from its drivers when they pick up passengers has long been the bone of contention for local taxi firms.

“We would like to know how much money our government is getting in taxes from Grab, which we understand they are paying by taking commissions from local drivers,” said U Cho Win, secretary of YDTWU.

U Maung Maung Cho pointed out that the foreign taxi firms have an advantage over local firms “we understand they are awarded with tax incentives to attract them to invest in the country. But actually they invest very little as they are only running an app and do not own the taxies or infrastructure. Yet, they are profiting from the drivers and from this, can then offer more discounts and promotions to passengers. The local firms cannot compete. We urge the government to start collecting more taxes from the international ride-hailing apps,” he said.

Last year, Hello Cabs shut down its taxi service, while Oway Ride is struggling to remain in business.

That however, has not deterred other firms from entering the market. OK Taxi Myanmar and Get Ride, both local firms, have both introduced ride-hailing mobile apps in Yangon. Meanwhile, Vietnam-based ride-hailing company FastGo recently told the media that it will be expanding into the country. Other taxi apps such as True, Seven Brothers and Go Taxi are also mulling launching their services in Myanmar, according to the YDTWU.

Currently, Get Ride is the second largest ride-hailing app in Myanmar after Grab. Since launching last year though, Get Ride has not taken commissions from its drivers. It plans to take an 8pc cut from drivers after the Thingyan Festival next week though.

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/transport-union-says-local-taxi-firms-face-unfair-competition-foreign-apps.html