GrabTaxi and Easy Taxi, two of the top taxi booking app providers, just inaugurated their services in HCMC last week. This enables passengers to take the nearest cab by simply activating the app/s on their smart phones instead of calling to the switchboard, making the whole process of looking for and hailing a taxi easier and faster.

Both applications are available on Android, iOS and Windows Phone, making the services accessible to all kinds of smart phone users. The taxi apps will be able to spot the locations of passengers through the Global Positioning System (GPS) and inform all taxi cabs within a radius of five kilometers. The commuters will select their destination and then send the booking to the taxi cabs within the radius. The drivers will reply but the nearest cab will win the booking.

An added feature of the application is for clients to be able to update additional information such as the drivers' phone numbers and the model of the vehicle. Moreover, drivers' data will be inputted into the application for easy access in case passengers leave their valuables inside the taxi and other such similar circumstances.

GrabTaxi started in 2011 in five countries, including Vietnam. The application earned positive feedbacks in Southeast Asia, as evidenced by its more than 600,000 downloads. EasyTaxi on the other hand began in 2012 in Brazil. It spread to 23 more countries and recorded over five mllion downloads. It has since then established a network of more than 100,000 drivers all over the world.

GrabTaxi and EasyTaxi applications were developed for the purpose of helping passengers avail of taxi services easier and faster especially during rush hours. The applications were also designed to access as much passengers through the GPS. The taxi applications will be launched in the other cities and provinces in the near future.