Cambodia is set to become the second destination for Singapore’s up and coming ride-hailing service aiming to unseat the region’s main contenders Pass App and Grab through its cheaper fares and novel business model.
Tada – which in Korean means ‘to ride’ – is the first ride-hailing service to take zero-commission from its drivers, and has already attracted more than 200 drivers in the Kingdom since it went live in mid-January this year.
It was first launched in Singapore in July last year, where it has more than 27,000 drivers and 200,000 users registered. Following its successful roll-out in Singapore and Cambodia, Tada will also be launched in Vietnam and Malaysia in the coming months.
Founder and CEO Kay Woo said that central to Tada’s business philosophy is creating deep and meaningful relationships with its driver-partners, adding that he wants his drivers to feel less stress about their income and paying commission.
“We are now open to all drivers in Phnom Penh. We are committed to bring an improvement to drivers’ earnings in Cambodia through Tada’s zero commission platform.
“Drivers no longer have to worry about paying high commission to the platform company. We want drivers to enjoy driving without stress and be able to offer a good service to riders. The Tada team will actively listen to the needs of both the drivers and riders and improve the situation together with our community,” says Woo.
Also setting it apart from its competitors is Tada’s incentive-based blockchain mobility ecosystem, powered by its parent company Mass Vehicle Ledger (MVL). The technology brings together key mobility data such as transactions, movement, accidents and the maintenance of vehicles into a single MVL ecosystem.
The app’s marketing manager Shanel Tan said the lack of driver commission would drive down prices for customers.
“We do not earn directly from the drivers and our drivers no longer have to worry about paying high commission to the platform company. We want drivers to enjoy driving without stress and offer good services to riders,” he said. “And as we do not charge commission, there is room for lower fare prices for riders as well.”
Tan added that while Tada currently only has standard taxi options they are already in the process of recruiting tuk tuk drivers.
“For now, we only have the standard taxi option. but we are on-boarding tuk tuk drivers for registration now. Our tuk tuk service will be launching soon,” he said.
With its financial incentives, many of the capital’s drivers are already hailing the benefits of Tada’s new system.
“Tada is different from other companies’ service because they do not charge commission from drivers. It is very good,” said 42-year-old Kol Sophea, a driver of metered taxis for 11 years in Phnom Penh.
He added that though he has reservations about working with a newly established company, he strongly believes that it has the potential to be a success if it can attract high quality drivers to help promote the service.
Tada’s operations manager Radeth Din, speaking to The Post, provided a real life example of the kind of savings customers could expect.
“From here [the Phnom Penh Centre] to the Royal Palace, Grab charges you 8,500 riel [$2.12], of which the driver can get about 6,000 riel."
“For Tada’s service, at the same distance, the rider pays 8,000 riel and the driver gets the full amount,” he said, adding that the app regularly has discount promotions.
