Uber and 99’s crisis boosts cab in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Among the main reasons for the growth, in the company’s evaluation, is the dissatisfaction with the service – mainly due to constant cancellations by drivers of private apps and the resumption of tourism.

Cab rides continue to grow in Brazil due to the decline in the quality of service of apps such as Uber and 99 and the recovery of economic activities, especially tourism.

And the growth is national. Data from the app Vá de Táxi show that the sector is going against its competitors – the private individual passenger transport apps.

The demand for passengers increased 37% in 2021 and continues to grow in 2022.

There was a 15% growth in the number of calls received from January to February. And from February to March, there was another increase, this time of 12%. The number of Vá de Táxi users grew by 64%.

According to the company, the main reasons for this growth are dissatisfaction with the service – mainly due to constant cancellations by drivers of private apps – and the resumption of tourism.

No wonder Uber has already announced that it is expanding its partnership with professionals and, by 2025, intends to include as many taxi drivers as possible on its platform.

In São Paulo City, the price difference between the cab and the apps used to be around 10%, but now it is 2%. São Paulo readjusted the value of the flag in the city on April 2.

“The apps entered the transportation market with very low fares, but, currently, they end up being the same and without the safety of the cab. The expectation is that taxi drivers will be even more demanded during 2022,” evaluates the CEO of Vá de Táxi, Glória Miranda.

Besides the quality of service, customers consider the fact that cabs are allowed to circulate in bus lanes and corridors an advantage.

SITUATION IN PERNAMBUCO STATE

In Pernambuco, the sector has seen the same growth. And with a difference: Besides the increase in demand, there is a greater demand for authorization to buy vehicles – letters from the Federal Revenue (IPI) and State Treasury (ICMS), according to the Taxi Drivers Union of Pernambuco.

“We verified an increase of 35% in cab rides in the Metropolitan Region of Recife after releasing the restrictive rules of covid-19 by the state government. And of 40%, on average, in requests for authorization to buy new cars,” says the president of SindiTáxi-PE, Flávio Fortunato.

SindiTáxi started to issue between 15 and 18 requests weekly from eight authorizations per week.

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