Daewoo launches its own ride-hailing app

Before the likes of Uber and Careem entered the Pakistani market, you had to rely on taxis to get you from point A to point B.

You could also book a cab from the small number of cab services around at that time (for almost 3-4 times the price in most cases). These private cab companies featured bigger cars with ACs, and were therefore more expensive as well.

Daewoo was one of those ‘premium cab services’ back in the old days. Now the company is looking to take a slice out of the ride-hailing services pie as well, given the popularity and potential that they afford us in our everyday lives. They have released a new app to compete with Careem and Uber directly.

Availability and promotional offer

The service is available in the following cities:

Lahore
Rawalpindi/Islamabad
Karachi
Multan
Peshawar
Abbottabad
Sialkot
Faisalabad
Sukkur

Users in Karachi will be able to use the promo code DAEWOOFIRST to get Rs300 off their first ride in the city.

Unlike other ride-sharing services, Daewoo offers business cars only (Toyota Corolla XLI and similar cars) and is much more expensive in comparison. Daewoo is hoping to target a niche with its luxury ride-hailing services in the market.

ProPakistani tested the Daewoo app.

Daewoo Cab App (Features)

The Daewoo app is quite similar to the Careem app in terms of its overall design. However the difference becomes apparent quickly as the app lacks the animations and the polish which Careem’s app offers.

You are required to sign in/sign up if you open the app for the first time.

A simple booking page shows up after completing the registration process. The app uses Google Maps for setting pick-up and drop-off locations. Similar to the Careem app, the Daewoo app also offers a now/later option for booking a ride now or at a later time.

The fare, however, is much higher than Careem or Uber. A similar route (as seen in the image on right) costs Rs230-250 on Careem Go and Rs150-200 on UberGo (Rs480 through Daewoo Cab). Granted the service offers business cars only, but not everyone can afford to pay that much on every trip.

Swipe right from the main booking page and you can access payment options, settings, ride history, contact info, etc. The wallet option is particularly useful if you have used Careem. Daewoo has picked up on that and added it in their app.

You can also add an EasyPaisa account or credit/debit card for payment by tapping on “Add Payment Method”. This gives the app a slight advantage in terms of payment options versus its rivals, which do not offer EasyPaisa payments.

You can edit your settings in the settings option. It is pretty basic though.

Verdict

The Daewoo app does its job well in addition to being light-weight and easy to use. The design could’ve been a bit better though.

Daewoo’s app looks like a simpler version of the Careem app with lesser animations and a flat design. Its also much smaller in size (around 6MB on Android) compared with Uber (around 120MB) and Careem (30-35MB). Pick-up and drop-off can also be set up easily, thanks to integration with Google Maps.

There is a little to no learning curve for new users trying out the app, which is a plus; although there’s no harm in investing more in refining the app’s design.

It is nice to see more competition in the ride-sharing service market. With more competition, customers tend to have more choices available.

The service will compete with the upper end of Careem’s services for now, which makes its scope limited to mostly customers with greater spending power. However, Daewoo is a more established name in transport services, so it will be interesting to see what they offer in the future.