Refining How We Navigate Cities

Q: How does Cabify’s service stand out from other applications such as Uber, Easy Taxi and Yaxi?

A: Over 65 percent of our users did not use taxis before Cabify, citing a lack of comfort or security. Now society is beginning to realize that using driver services like Cabify is cheaper than owning a vehicle.

Our offering for both corporate clients and private passengers differentiates us from competition. Within the corporate segment, we can offer approximately 40 percent in cost reductions and Cabify México can also invoice customers directly, instead of relying on the drivers. Our individual users benefit from being charged by distance instead of time, resulting in equal costs for trips of a similar distance, regardless of the weather or traffic conditions. We absorb those costs even in areas prone to heavy traffic, with just an additional charge of MX$20 (US$1) during rush hour. On top of our competitive rates, customer safety is the company’s number one priority. All our units have comprehensive insurance for the vehicle, the driver and the passenger. Finally, Cabify is the only service in our industry that has a customer service call center operating 24/7.

Q: What are the most interesting mobility solutions that Cabify offers?

A: We can provide an integral solution for everything from buses to armored cars. Our main service categories are Cabify Lite, which provides medium-sized cars, Cabify Executive for luxury cars and Cabify Access, launched as a way to serve customers with specific mobility requirements. Around 7.7 percent of Mexico City’s citizens have a disability, so Cabify Access vans are refurbished and the drivers undertake a strict training process and are certified by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) so that we can guarantee the best service for passengers. Of the people with disabilities in Mexico City, 45 percent have missed out on a part of their education due to insufficient mobility infrastructure. Cabify is working with nongovernmental organizations to develop more initiatives that provide children with disabilities with a way to reach their schools.

We began offering services under a new category called CabiFLY, providing jets, planes and helicopters, having identified a need among corporate customers for more flexible and comprehensive transport options. We will introduce a new category in 2017 to help companies transport products or documents.

Q: What opportunities have you identified for governments and new players to develop an improved mobility infrastructure in Mexico?

A: The inherent cultural preference for vehicle ownership lingers in Mexico, and despite successful initiatives such as EcoBici, the government has not yet assigned enough resources to satisfy mobility needs. Developing innovative technology, sharing information and opening public policy decisions to all stakeholders, could improve this and vastly enrich quality of life across the country.

Companies like Cabify help reduce the vehicle park and are employment generators. Furthermore, we pay taxes, which was commonly unheard of among public transport companies. The regulations that define our business model were in dispute recently but citizens expressed their mobility rights by supporting our operations. Cabify has always been a legal company, constituted in Mexico and part of an industry of private drivers and limousines that has existed for four decades. Nevertheless, should the government decide that companies like Cabify are subject to certain regulations, we are open to discuss them.

Cabify is growing at a rate of 20.5 percent per month, but we still have a long way to go. Our plans are to expand further across Latin America, as well as into cities like Puebla and Guadalajara. Cabify is already the market leader in Queretaro and we have seen incredible results with our latest venture in Monterrey. In terms of diversifying the business, car sharing and carpooling still present a huge opportunity for us. We are also exploring the idea of a tourist-centered approach to aviation in Mexico to generate a new entertainment industry on top of our CabiFLY division, which in turn would create more jobs and greater mobility integration.