Ride sharing companies like Uber, Pathao, Obhai have created a competitive market in the ride sharing industry in Bangladesh over the past decade. But all of these ridesharing companies provide almost the same service. As a result, Bangladesh’s Alternative Public Transportation sector has the potential to flourish by lowering passenger travel hassles through innovation. A new ride-sharing service BiddinGO began its journey with the goal of offering a different kind of services to riders and customers.
History of BiddinGo
BiddinGO Limited’s Chairman Mohammad Jubayer Hasan Tamim and Managing Director AM Faisal have been friends and business partners for a long time. Before the establishment of BiddinGO, in April 2019, these two tech enthusiast friends also launched a health tech app called Tweetup. They both noticed that while the use of platforms like Pathao, Uber and Obhai has increased in the country, many passengers and riders are now sharing rides without the app. For this riders claim high commission of the app and passengers claim for the high fares set by the app. But the two founders of BiddinGO felt that due to the high rents set by the app, many people use this service only in emergency situations instead of regular ridesharing.
BiddinGO’s idea to popularise ridesharing as a regular means of transportation and to give both riders and passengers the opportunity to determine the fare came to the fore and the concept was launched in August 2021. BiddinGO wanted to bring the option to negotiate prices between riders and passengers in the app.
Once logged in to the app, the passenger will be given the option to pick the destination and the user will be able to set the price depending on the base fare of the destination in the app. After confirming the ride request a three minute bidding option pops out where the rider will have the opportunity to negotiate a ride fare with the passenger. Based on the fee and destination, interested passengers should accept the request within three minutes. Based on the fee and destination, interested passengers should accept the request within three minutes.
BiddinGO’s website and app were launched in November 2021 with this idea. However, riders initially faced a variety of problems due to the different user interfaces compared to regular ride sharing apps. However, at present the platform is getting quite a good response. In addition, the start-up is also providing parcel delivery service from the BiddinGO app. According to the company, the platform has more than 7,000 registered vehicles and more than 10,000 customers. Currently, the platform has 30 dedicated employees.
Current Operation
Ride Sharing
The start-up is conducting activities through two different apps called “BiddinGO- Make a ride” for users and “BiddinGO Captain” for riders. The “BiddinGO- Make a Ride” app allows users to avail ride sharing services. “BiddinGO Captain” is basically a dedicated app for riders, where riders can register their vehicle by providing legal documents. The platform currently charges 13tk per km for bike ridesharing and 25tk per km for car ridesharing. In addition, BiddinGO charges a maximum of 10 percent commission from riders for each ride.
Parcel Delivery
In addition to ride sharing, BiddinGO is providing a “parcel delivery” service. Under this facility, those who have bikes or cars as well as those who do not have their own vehicle will be able to pick up and deliver parcels. Using this unique feature of BiddinGO, anyone can earn income by accepting a parcel request on the way home or office, even if they do not have a personal car. Users will be able to bid with information such as delivery address, photo, and weight for product or parcel delivery, similar to how ride sharing offers a bidding feature.
Future Plan
BiddinGO plans to bring an ambulance service as well as CNG ride sharing services for the customers to its own platform in the future. BiddinGO also plans to establish an academy for training drivers on local traffic rules, regulations, and proper road conduct. Drivers who have difficulty operating the smartphone and using the app will also be provided training facilities from the academy. In addition, free servicing for bikes and cars has been arranged every 6 months. There are plans for bike loans and car loans in the future. A new user interface for the app is also being developed. Will Biddingo be able to bring any change in the ridesharing industry of Bangladesh?
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