Electric TukTuks - Ride-Sharing Business Landscape in Bangkok

Bangkok is no doubt a lively, culturally diverse, international city brimming with hope and enthusiasm. But every time I walk across the noisy streets in this bustling South East Asian city, one thing always occupies my thoughts: the city without troubling traffic congestion and hazardous air pollution.

During a dry season with few rainy days, I can't help feel this way especially when I get stuck in a horrible traffic jam on the main roads like Thanon Sukhumvit in central Bangkok. I am also put off when I see a fleet of Japanese old buses made in 60's that are still chugging loudly and spewing out black smoke into Bangkok's atmosphere, but at the same time I have to admit that they surely help provide an affordable transportation option for bangkokians in such difficult times of lingering inflationary concerns.

People carry around and put on face masks to protect themselves from not only filthy virus but the dirty exhaust gases in Bangkok. I do hope that Thai government's BCG (bio-circular-green) initiatives would encourage an increasing number of EVs or clean hybrids to emerge stronger and help people regain their basic human right to breathe clean air. No wonder that a clean, smart city is a place of choice for many foreign tourists.

In this article I like to reflect upon potential and opportunities for the ride-hailing landscape in Thailand, and delve into how the electric tuk-tuk ride-sharing app dubbed "muvmi" can play out in the years to come.

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What is muvmi?

Tuk tuks (ตุ๊ก ตุ๊ก) in Thailand are taxis converted from three-wheeled vehicles, similar to the Indian auto rickshaw. The colourful design of these eye-catching vehicles is not only popular with tourists, but they are often used in rural areas where public transportation is yet to be developed. Originally, these three-wheeled vehicles did exist in Japan, but Japan ceased their production in the 60's and began to export some of them to Thailand as part of their ODA programmes. In the 1960's Thailand commenced its production on a full scale and the tuk-tuks became popular and were used in people's daily lives.

The Tuk Tuk is an excellent, zippy vehicle especially for short distance travel due to its small size. However, in most cases they are not metered, which often causes concerns for foreign tourists coming to Thailand. Last month, a local newspaper reported that a Tuk Tuk driver was fined and given a mandatory course by the police department for overcharging Japanese tourists. In addition, only Thai drivers with a proper license are allowed to take the wheel. I take the view that tuk-tuks are slightly more expensive than normal taxis in Bangkok or other major cities. It seems to be quite common for a foreign tourist to be charged 100-200 baht for a short trip by a tuk tuk driver with a smirk on his face.

If you use a registered metered taxi in Bangkok, you will probably find the normal taxi fare to cost 46.5 baht (about USD1.2 or 200 yen) per the first 2 km, which is still 3.5 times cheaper than 730 yen for the same short distance you must pay for using a taxi in Tokyo. The seemingly  "exorbitant" taxi fare in Tokyo can be mainly attributed to a web of local regulations and high barriers and walls of obstacles to entry built by the taxi industry association in Japan, though some foreign tourists visiting Japan may feel the burden to be somewhat mitigated thanks in part to devalued yen these days.

In Bangkok, admittedly one of the world's most congested cities, electronic Tuk Tuks are getting increasingly accepted due to their usability and environmental consciousness. This move has been further pushed by a local startup called Urban Mobility Tech which runs "muvmi", a ride-hailing app. Muvmi has been steadily gaining popularity and now been ranked as one of main players like Grab, Bolt, Lineman, inDrive and Airasia ride in this space.

I am actually one of heavy muvmi users for making frequent short trips in Bangkok. Unlike a regular Tuk Tuk, the app shows users the fixed fare between the pickup and drop-off points. This can be one advantage for muvmi users as they do not need to worry about how much addtional time charge would be in case they are trapped in the time-consuming traffic congestion. After downloading the app, you can create your own digital wallet for topping up money with Promptpay (QR code), credit card or debit card with an amount of 100 Baht or more, and then scan the QR code attached on the muvmi vehicle for cashless payment whenever you get to ride on an electric tuk tuk.

On the other hand, I note the following shortcomings:

• There are pre-designated pick-up and drop-off points, meaning you may need to travel to the nearest pick-up point or get off the closest drop-off point near the final destination.

• It may take longer for the muvmi driver than a taxi or motorbike to pick you up. Sometimes, it is not unusual for you to wait even an hour to grab the muvmi tuk-tuk during rush hours on a busy weekday in a rainy season.

• Late-night use is difficult as muvmi works daily from 06:30am to 22:00pm.

• Muvmi has yet to serve some districts like Khlong Tan area which is located south of the main Sukhumvit road; but muvmi is expanding the covered areas with more pick-up and drop-off points in Bangkok. I think that the pace of increasing muvmi's geographical footprint will be further accelerated after the next funding round.

Overview of ride-hailing service in Thailand