A City Hall of São Paulo announced this Thursday morning (9) the creation of the application Mobizap SP, a competitor to Uber and 99Táxi, which promises to make urban mobility in the city more accessible. Mobizap SP will work as an individual passenger platform and promises to offer a more economical option for individual transport. For users, the advantage of the service is that it will not charge the dynamic rate, which changes the price if the number of trips is higher on that day and time.
City Hall of SP announces Mobizap, new Uber competitor
Instead of a dynamic charge, Mobizap will have a 10.95% administration fee for drivers, which is also lower than what private companies charge. The service will also have specific security rules, such as the “panic button” that triggers the military police immediately.
How will it work?
Mobizap SP will work exactly like Uber and 99Táxi, through a application. To use the application, it is need to register informing personal data such as name, e-mail and telephone number. You can then choose whether you want to act as driver, passenger or both. The application can be downloaded on both mobile phones Android as also iOS.
Once registered, passengers can request a ride indicating their location and destination. The application will show available drivers in the region and the estimated time for them to arrive at the departure location. Payment can be made in money, credit card, debit or in-app credit.
In turn, drivers also need to register in the application to start receiving calls from passengers. According to the Municipal Department of Mobility and Traffic, the administration fee, which is mandatory for drivers, will be set at 10,95%which represents a reduction compared to the fees charged by private applications.
As for safety, Mobizap SP promises to adopt important measures for both the driver and the passengers. For example, it will be required a photo (selfie) at the time of registration, and a “panic button” to call the military police in an emergency.
tough market
Although the City of São Paulo has stated that Mobizap SP seeks to make urban mobility in the city more accessible, there are divergent opinions regarding the impact of the entry of yet another competitor in the market. Some transportation experts say that competition can lead to a reduction in fees charged by applicationsbenefiting users. However, there are concerns that fierce competition between companies might lead to precarious working conditions of drivers.
According to data from the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), work in transport or delivery applications has grown rapidly in the main capitals of Brazil. In 2021, the number of Brazilians working on digital transport and delivery platforms reached 1.4 million. This scenario led to the discussion on the regulation of app companies that operate in paid private passenger transport and the establishment of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) of Apps in the city of São Paulo.
Source: City Hall of São Paulo, Mobizap SP
