Taxify eyeing Denmark following Uber’s demise

Estonian-based transport app sees potential in hitting up Danish market

Mar 31, 2017

It didn’t take long for the news of Uber pulling the plug in Denmark before other companies began swooping in to fill the vacuum.

One of the companies keen to take advantage of the forthcoming gap in the market when Uber signs off for good on April 18 is Taxify, one of the fastest growing transport apps in Europe.

The company told the CPH POST that it is now looking for fleets to enter Denmark now that Uber is withdrawing, although it couldn’t reveal when it would make an appearance in the Danish market.

“It’s too early to talk about launch dates – we’re currently in a state of getting supply partners,” Martin Villig, the co-founder of Taxify, told CPH POST.

“Taxify is operating with both private drivers and taxi drivers, which is why we wouldn’t have the same problems as Uber has. We have to consider the legal situation: which is why we would enter Denmark with taxi drivers only? Why Denmark? We see great potential in the market.”

Eastern promise
The legal situation Villig is probably referring to is Denmark’s new taxi law, which stipulates it will become obligatory for taxis to have seat sensors, video surveillance and taxi meters. Many contend it was the final nail in Uber’s coffin in Denmark.

Founded in Estonia in 2013, Taxify is primarily situated in eastern Europe (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Georgia and Serbia), but it has also managed to gain a foothold in South Africa, Mexico, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Azerbaijan.

According to the company, it provides much better conditions for its drivers – an issue that has hampered Uber’s effort to remain in business in Denmark, where worker rights are rigorously protected.

Taxify said it has a good case study. Last summer, when Uber left Budapest due to strict taxi regulations, Taxify took over Uber’s biggest fleet partners and is now a market-leading app in Hungary.

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