Vietnam's on-demand ride-hailing market is about to gain a new competitor as Mai Linh has announced it will launch an app-based xe ôm service next week.
Tuoi Tre reports that Mai Linh, one of the largest taxi firms in the country, will introduce M.Bike in Hanoi, Saigon, and Da Nang next Monday, November 20. The move comes as foreign rivals Uber and Grab have massively disrupted Vietnam's traditional taxi market.
Mai Linh has been testing its service and drivers over the last month and is in the process of conducting final evaluations before making M.Bike available to the public. The news source adds that the taxi company already offers an on-demand mobile cab service.
Uber and Grab have become hugely popular in Vietnam's major cities, putting pressure on long-running cab companies to change the way they operate. Vinasun lost 8,000 drivers in the first half of 2017, while Mai Linh saw 6,000 drivers walk out the door in the same time period.
[Photo via VOV]