Rocket Internet’s Easy Taxi exits Taiwan, marking yet another withdrawal from Asia

Uber and its Southeast Asian competitor GrabTaxi likely spent New Year’s Eve toasting to a year of steady growth and massive funding rounds. But for Easy Taxi, Rocket Internet’s cab-hailing startup, it rung in the new year with a thud. On December 31, the Taiwanese office sent out a text message to its driver network stating that as of that day, the company has officially moved out of the island.

We first caught news of Easy Taxi’s departure from Taiwan through domestic media reports. We then emailed Rocket Internet, but they were on vacation. When we called up Easy Taxi’s Taiwan phone number, we were told the number was invalid. So we opened up the app, hailed a vehicle, and asked the driver to show us the message. It reads in part (translation ours):

“After entering Taiwan over a year ago, Easy Taxi feels extremely grateful for the support and care it has received from its numerous partner drivers, business, and users. But we regret that after concluding Taiwan’s laws are incompatible with Easy Taxi’s core business model, Easy Taxi will officially move out of the Taiwan market on December 31. The Taiwan operations team will cease performing all services, but drivers can still take orders through Easy Taxi app and customers may also continue to use Easy Taxi app to hail vehicles, with attention paid to whether or not [these services] violate new laws laid out by the transport ministry. We thank our drivers for joining us on this journey and motivating the Easy Taxi Taiwan team to provide the best services for everyone.”

In other words, drivers and passengers cans still use the Easy Taxi app, but it won’t be serviced by a local team. According to our driver, subsidies – a common practice among Uber and its ilk – will no longer be distributed.

The mention of “incompatible laws” likely refers to Uber’s regulatory woes in Taiwan. On December 31, Taiwan’s transport ministry issued an additional notice demanding that the company register as a transportation company and follow labor practices in accordance with the law. At the moment, Uber is registered as an information services company in Taiwan. While some of its UberX and UberBlack drivers work as professional chauffeurs with proper commercial licenses, some UberX drivers in Taiwan do not.

Arguably, these legal woes shouldn’t have anything to do with Easy Taxi, which partners with registered taxi drivers and taxi fleets. Unlike UberX, the company does not engage in ridesharing. Instead the most controversial aspect of its business model ought to be its subsidies. This makes Easy Taxi’s exit from Taiwan unusual. Perhaps the company senses that fighting the transport ministry is a losing (or costly) game, and doesn’t want to head to court – which is likely where Uber will end up.

Update: Easy Taxi to points 16 and 23-1 of a recent legislation, which state that taxi drivers must only use one dispatcher, as the law in question that forbids its operation in Taiwan. Of course, there would seem to be plenty of room for debate here, but the company does not have ambitions to fight the law. “Easy Taxi is compliant with legislations in the countries it operates in,” it tells Tech in Asia.

In mid-December Tech in Asia reported that Rocket Internet effectively shuttered its operations in Hong Kong, India, and Indonesia. It also laid off two-thirds of its staff in Malaysia. While Rocket Internet has never revealed data on Easy Taxi’s revenues or bookings, its steady retreat throughout Asia suggests it has taken a more conservative approach than its competitors. With just over US$77 million in funding, its war chest pales in comparison to GrabTaxi’s US$33o million and Uber’s US$3.3 billion.

We’ve reached out to Rocket Internet for more information about its departure from Taiwan.

See: Easy Taxi runs out of gas in Hong Kong, India, and Indonesia

Editing by Terence Lee, top image via koadmonkey