Reinventing four wheels: 14 apps that are changing the way we get around

We’re all used to tapping on an app to help us find our way or book tickets for a trip, but the newest wave of transportation apps go far beyond that. The apps in this list are shaking up cities, industries, and our entire car culture. It’s not just Uber – there’s so much more happening.

While these transportation apps are still a niche experience for some of Asia’s most web-connected citizens, they give us a glimpse into the future and how we’ll get around by car.

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China

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As regular readers would expect of China, the nation has produced a wealth of apps in this new sector. They cover all kinds of four-wheel rides at pretty much every price-point.

But these car-ride and taxi-flagging apps have not been without controversy in China. While China’s taxi apps are free to use and the startups behind them make no money directly from either the riders or cabbies, users have to offer a sizable ‘tip’ – usually up to RMB 20 (US$3.28) – as an incentive for the taxi driver to avoid street-side pick-ups and come collect you, the app user, instead. In some cities, this fee has been banned or a limit has been put on it, as it’s disrupting the taxi industry too much and making some drivers turn down potential passengers on the roadside.

Other areas have tried different kinds of regulation. The biggest threat right now comes from Shanghai. In late February, authorities banned the use of taxi-booking apps during peak traffic hours. The Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority went further by banning the use of transportation-booking apps for private vehicles that are licensed to carry passengers. That could directly affect – or even outlaw – Uber and other such private car services in the city.

Here are the main players:

Didi Dache

This service started the new year with a bang, getting $100 million in series C funding. China’s top web giant, Tencent (HKG:0700), put in $30 million of that. Tencent is the maker of WeChat, the popular messaging app.

Just a couple of days after that investment, Tencent added Didi Dache as one of the online services integrated into WeChat. That allows WeChat users in certain cities to find a taxi within WeChat, book it, and then even pay for it via WeChat Payments.

With 355 million active users on WeChat, this gives Didi Dache the biggest reach in terms of users of any transport app in Asia – perhaps even the world. The app has been making a huge marketing push this year, including cash rewards for users and cabbies. The company has spent over $200 million on these subsidies so far. As a result of all this, the app is now used to book five million rides per day.

Aside from access within WeChat, Didi Dache has its own apps for iOS and Android.

Kuaidi Dache

Kuaidi Dache is backed by a different Chinese web titan – Alibaba. That makes both Kuaidi Dache and Didi Dache pawns in a growing rivalry between Tencent and Alibaba in the realm of mobile commerce.

Edaijia

PPZuche

Yidao Yongche

Uber (in China)

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Across Southeast Asia

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EasyTaxi

GrabTaxi

Uber

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Singapore

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iCarsClub

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Indonesia

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Blue Bird

Go-jek

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India

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Ola

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Vietnam

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PingTaxi

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Philippines

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Tripid