Pathao – a digital ride services platform in Bangladesh – will resume its car ride-sharing service from Tuesday, with an added facility allowing users to set fares of their own rides.
In the new innovative business model, the user will be able to request a ride at a fare predefined by the Pathao app or opt to pay a custom fare. The request will be sent to multiple drivers at once to settle the ride deal, a press release said on Monday.
If the user receives multiple offers, they can pick based on the driver's counter-offer price, estimated time of arrival (ETA), vehicle model and rating, or can offer a revised fare.
Similarly, a driver can choose from among several requests, accept the request that suits them best, or suggest their own price.
In the traditional ride-sharing model, a user’s ride request is dispatched to a single driver by the app and the pricing of the ride is set using a pre-established algorithm.
This results in a lower likelihood of users and drivers being matched at mutually acceptable fares, leaving many requests unserved.
In this model, drivers would be able to maximise earnings by reducing their idle time while users would be able to find a ride faster by negotiating fares, in a win-win solution for all.
Pathao Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Fahim Ahmed said, “We are excited to give control back to our users and drivers. We believe that technology should be more people-centric. It’s time to change the status quo.”
