Business news from Ukraine

SLOVAKIAN TAXI SERVICE HOPIN ENTERS UKRAINIAN MARKET

1 July , 2016  

KYIV. July 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Hopin taxi service mobile attachment (Slovakia) starts operating in Kyiv from July 1.

Director General Martin Winkler said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday that using the attachment one can learn about the fare, type of a car, warn a taxi driver about a delay and track the approaching of the car.

The minimum order is UAH 40. The cost of one kilometer travelling is UAH 6.

He said that by the end of this year the company seeks to reach 2,000 drivers in Kyiv and 500,000 orders a month.

Cash or bank cards via the attachment could be used to pay for the taxi.

Asked about the lawfulness of the taxi service operation, Marketing Director of the Ukrainian division Vadym Yurik said that the issue has been settled under Ukrainian law. There is a representative office in Ukraine. The taxi market in Ukraine unfortunately is unregulated now. Around 90% of drivers work without any permits, he said.

“We hope that the issue would be settled soon,” he said, not disclosing how tax payment from operations of taxi drivers is settled.

Yurik added that the company has interviews with drivers before hiring them and monitors drivers’ rating in the application.

He said that the company intends to operate in several large cities of Ukraine.

Winkler said that by the end of this year or early next year the company could enter Lviv and Odesa and then Dnipro and Kharkiv.