Cabify
TypePrivate
IndustryVehicle for hire
Founded2011
FounderJuan de Antonio
Headquarters
Madrid, Spain
Number of locations
40 cities
Areas served
Key people
  • Juan de Antonio Rubio (CEO)
Number of employees
1200 (2023)
Websitecabify.com/en

Cabify is a multi-mobility platform for people and objects that offers various alternatives to reduce urban travel in private cars. The company operates in Spain and Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Argentina and Uruguay). Between 2016 and 2019, it also operated in Portugal - where it was available in Lisbon and Porto - [1] and between 2016 and 2021 in Brazil.[2]

Cabify was founded in May 2011 by Juan de Antonio, and is Spain's first-ever Unicorn company.[3]

History

Development in Spain

Cabify was founded in May 2011 by Juan de Antonio, a Spanish entrepreneur, telecommunications engineer, and graduate of Stanford University.[4][5] De Antonio was motivated to create a vehicle for hire company after receiving negative market feedback due to high upfront costs when trying to introduce electric vehicles in European cities.[6][7] De Antonio started discussing the idea with Adeyemi Ajao, one of the founders of Tuenti, and Brendan F. Wallace. Cabify started its operations in Madrid, and the idea attracted investors from Silicon Valley. Juan de Antonio stayed as the CEO, while Ajao and Wallace became advisors as they continued leading their own startup.[8][9] Samuel Lown joined as the CTO in July with Michael Koper and Adrian Merino joining the team two months later.[9]

Initially, the service was called "Executive" and was intended for a niche group, with high-end vehicles that were slightly more expensive than taxis.[10] In February 2012, Cabify had 20,000 users and completed nearly 3,000 rides in Madrid alone.[11] In the next two years, more than 150 taxi drivers in Madrid joined the company.[12]

In June 2013, the company launched Cabify Lite, with mid-range vehicles that were usually cheaper than taxis. By the end of 2015, Cabify Lite represented 85% of the company's offer.[10] In 2016, the company partnered with Waze to complete its trips more quickly and improve driver and passenger safety.[13] In 2016, Cabify launched in Portugal (Lisbon),[14]

The company currently operates in ten Spanish cities as of 2022 – Alicante,[15] A Coruña,[16] Barcelona,[17] Madrid,[18] Málaga,[19] Murcia,[20] Santander,[21] Seville,[22] Valencia[23] and Zaragoza.[24] In July 2018, a violent taxi-driver strike in Barcelona forced the company to suspend its services until further notice.[25] In September 2018, drivers for ride-hailing services including Cabify protested against the Spanish government's proposition to tighten up rules for ride-hailing services.[26] In January 2019, Cabify suspended its operations in Barcelona after the Catalan government voted a new rule requiring a 15-minute notice for booking a car.[27] Its service was restored in Barcelona in March 2019. A specific system architecture for Catalonia alone was developed to comply with the region's harsher laws.[28]

In May 2022, the company secured a EUR 40 million loan from the European Investment Bank to purchase a fleet of electric vehicles for use in Spain, in order to meet the European Union's goal of eliminating carbon emissions.[29][30]

In October 2022, Cabify launched a new division and brand globally aimed at the storage and transfer of objects, Cabify Logistics. In Spain, 100% of Cabify Logistics' own fleet are electric vans dedicated exclusively to the parcel service.[31]

In Latin America

A year after its foundation in Spain, Cabify launched its operations in Latin America, opening subsidiaries in Mexico, Chile and Peru.[32][33][34]

Within a few years, 80% of Cabify's income would come from the American continent.[7]

In 2016, Cabify increased expansion in Mexico. The Hoy No Circula program in Mexico City generated a 200% increase in demand.[35] During that period, Cabify reduced its rates by 25% to motivate the inhabitants to use alternative means of transportation.[36] Also, it donated a part of its revenues to UNICEF.[37] At that time, the company operated in six Mexican cities: Guadalajara, Mérida, México D. F., Monterrey, Puebla and Querétaro.[38]

In 2016, Cabify started operating in Argentina (Buenos Aires and Rosario),[39] Brazil (Sao Paulo),[40] Costa Rica,[4] Bolivia and Panama.[41] It also announced it would expand its current services to new cities, such as Valparaíso and Viña del Mar in Chile.[42]

Cabify started offering services to the corporate sector in Bogotá in 2015.[43] Cabify later opened in Cali in April 2016 and announced its expansion to Medellín and the Caribbean region, more precisely to the cities of Barranquilla and Cartagena. It currently offers its services in Barranquilla, Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena, Medellín and Pasto.[43]

In March 2017, the killing of the 19-year-old girl Maria Castilla by a Cabify driver in Mexico raised the question of safety with ride-hailing services. Cabify installed a panic button in its app to prevent other similar crimes.[44]

Investments

In September 2012, the company raised a $4 million Series Seed investment round from Black Vine, Belgian fund Emerge, angel investors sourced via AngelList (including the Winklevoss twins), and a series of Latin American investors.[45][46]

A second $8-million investment was round up in April 2014, and led by Seaya Ventures.[47]

The company's biggest investor, Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, which is also a lead investor in taxi-app player Lyft, made its first investment in Cabify in October 2015, when it provided capital for a further push into Latin America. Cabify's revenues had risen to $40m, from $10m in 2014 and $1m in 2013.[48] In April 2016, Rakuten invested $92 million more in Cabify. Rakuten's investment was a part of a round of funding in which Cabify raised $120 million.[39] After the 2016 financing, Cabify was valued at around $320 million.

In January 2018, Cabify raised an additional $160 million, valuing the company at $1.4 billion. The company cut down 10% of its workforce and reorganized its top management.[3]

Description

Service

Cabify operates as the contact point between customers and private drivers by means of its mobile app for Android and iPhone, as well as its web page. Users pay for the service via their credit card or PayPal account, with cash payments introduced in 2016. The payment system is protected by Symantec's Verisign security.[49] Cabify has 400 permanent employees.[50][7] Cabify offers three core classes of vehicles: Executive, Lite or Group (6 persons).[51]

The app shows the location of drivers to the customer, calls the closest driver, directs the driver, and plays the role of intermediary for payments, taking a commission of around 20%. Once the ride is over, Cabify sends a summary to the customer's mobile phone, including information such as the distance, duration and cost of the ride. The customer can evaluate the ride and the driver.[52] Locations can be saved as favourites to be accessed more easily. The system has a waiting queue, where it keeps looking for a ride over a period indicated by the customer (from 5 to 30 minutes). The service can be reserved up to 30 days in advance.[32] The app integrates with Waze.[13] The service includes the possibility of real-time tracking between departure and arrival. If the signal is lost for more than sixty seconds or the route changes considerably, the passenger will receive a telephone call verifying their comfort and safety.[53] The app allows the customer to choose the type of vehicle (Executive, Lite or Group), and offers a wide range of free options, such as the driver speaking a foreign language,[51] the desired air-conditioning temperature, the driver opening the door or calling upon arrival, and the desired radio station.[54]

The company serves two types of clients: corporate and private passengers, with the former taking up 60% of Cabify's offer. Cabify claims corporate users are the focus of the company's service offering.[55][56] Cabify is currently a 100% accessible app for blind people and people with various disabilities, with many functionalities such as screen readers, chat instead of screens, etc. [57]

Other services

Cabify also offers a number of other services depending on the city, including: Cabify Express, a service of immediate delivery via moto taxis, in Peru; Cabify Taxi, a service for accessing local taxi cabs, in Spain; Cabify City, a service of independent drivers, in Chile; and Cabify Cash, a service where users pay with cash instead of credit cards, in Peru.[58][59][7]

Cabify also has a transportation option for disabled persons.[60] Since then, the service has been opened in Chile, Spain and Peru. Cabify's plans for the future include global expansion of Cabify Access, its service for the disabled.[7]

The company is trying to grow in a sound way by forging relationships with local businesses, hiring both traditional taxis and regular consumers as Cabify drivers, and placing heavy emphasis on repeat customers, for example by steering its cars in peak hours towards habitual users rather than those that offer the most lucrative one-off fare. Because of this approach, the company claims that it has no need to subsidize drivers or offer steep discounts to users, unlike many of its rivals.[45][48]

Pricing

Cabify charges per kilometer of the optimal route. This means that it optimizes the distance between two points so the passenger is paying for the most direct route regardless of the actual route chosen by the driver. Uber, in comparison, charges according to minutes and kilometers spent inside the vehicles.[49]

Moreover, Cabify has fixed pricing (Since December this was removed in the Brazilian territory), where the price per kilometer does not change depending on the time of the day. Uber, on the other hand, has dynamic prices, which change depending on peak hours, weather and local events.[39] Cabify described it as a socially motivated feature: "We are not something that the driver does in his free time. We are his main source of income. We don't think it should be something occasional, but a job that can sustain a family."[7]

Drivers

Cabify cars and drivers pass a rigorous selection and filtration process. All drivers must pass psychometric tests, tests for alcohol and drugs, and a city orientation test. They must show they have no criminal record or traffic violations.[61] The murder of a young female customer in Puebla, Mexico, by one of Cabify's drivers raises important questions about the credibility of any filtration process carried out by the company.[62]

All drivers are required to wear professional attire,[56] to be polite, to attend to the needs of the passenger which may include additional services such as in-car reading materials and Cabify-branded water. Drivers are required to take the fastest way to the destination. If they change the route without the passenger's approval, they can be penalized by Cabify.[49]

Cabify tries to work with governments to find a way to operate legally.[48] In the case of Spain, all the drivers work as "collaborators" for Cabify, and they do this under a commercial contract for the supply of services, either as part of a company or as freelance owners of a VTC vehicle fleet (Chauffeur Driven Vehicle).[63] They can be either the direct suppliers of the service or provide it through hired personnel under the Social Security's legislation. Cabify doesn't take care of the registration of self-employed workers. Instead, they need to be considered as such, before they begin to collaborate with the company. Cabify's drivers don't receive monthly or yearly fixed salaries from the company. Their income comes from the invoicing of journeys and the amount of services they have provided.[64][65]

Cabify's control system allows to keep track of all charges and payments, which can now be made in cash. [66] [67] This helps eliminate the informal economy and the precariousness currently present in the rest of urban transportation's segments.[68][69]

The taxi union of Santiago protested against Cabify and Uber, announcing a national strike in May 2016.[70] Several Chilean celebrities who use Cabify's services, including Cristián Sánchez and Renata Ruiz, supported the company by filming a video where they give their reasons for using Cabify.[71] After trying to find a legal solution with the Chilean government for over six months without success, Cabify launched Cabify City, which connects independent car owners with users on the Cabify app. Cabify City is its first unregulated service.[59]

On May 9, 2017, the Colombian Superintendence of Ports and Transport fined Cabify $516 million Colombian pesos (about $173,240 United States dollars), as it "facilitated the transgression of transport laws stated by the Government of Colombia, by allowing personal transport services to operate in special transport vehicles that were not authorized by the Ministry of Transport for this modality of services".[72]

References

  1. ↑ "Cabify smartphone taxi service quits Portugal". Portugal Resident. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  2. ↑ "After 5 years, Cabify to shut down operations in Brazil in June due to profitability problems". LABS - Latin America Business Stories. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  3. 1 2 Ingrid Lunden, Uber rival Cabify raised $160M at a $1.4B valuation amid restructuring and CEO change, Techcrunch.com, 22 January 2018
  4. 1 2 Manuel Avendaño (9 May 2016). "Cabify, la competencia de Uber, se prepara para operar en Costa Rica" (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Juan de Antonio, Executives.technology
  6. ↑ María Gómez Silva (18 September 2015). "Cabify, el "Uber español", crece dentro y fuera de españa" (in Spanish). Finanzas. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rosa Jiménez Cano (3 May 2016). "Cabify quiere plantar cara a Uber y crecer en América Latina". El Pais (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "Un fundador de Tuenti se pasa a los coches de lujo bajo demanda" (in Spanish). Cinco Días. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  9. 1 2 Javier González (3 March 2012). "Coches de lujo a golpe de móvil" (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  10. 1 2 Rodolfo de Juana (9 December 2015). "Cabify: "Somos de las empresas más inspeccionadas de España"" (in Spanish). Muy Pymes. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  11. ↑ Robin Wauters (14 February 2012). "Cabify, the 'Uber of Europe', plots expansion to 15 European cities". TechCrunch. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Cabify, nuevo sistema alternativo de transporte en Madrid" (in Spanish). Motor. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  13. 1 2 Sarah Perez (26 January 2016). "Lyft, Cabify, 99Taxis & Others To Integrate Waze's Routing Software In Their Own Apps". TechCrunch. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  14. ↑ Sónia Peres Pinto (8 May 2016). "Conheça Cabify, o novo concorrente da Uber" (in Portuguese). Jornal i. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  15. ↑ "Cabify llega a Alicante y ya opera en seis ciudades españolas". 20 Minutos (in Spanish). 1 June 2018.
  16. ↑ Merino, Nicolás (12 December 2018). "Cabify comienza a operar en A Coruña". Auto Fácil (in Spanish).
  17. ↑ Galeano, Susana (12 November 2016). "Cabify llega a Barcelona con su servicio Lite para empresas y particulares". Marketing 4 Ecommerce (in Spanish).
  18. ↑ "Nace Cabify, transporte de lujo en Madrid a través del móvil". Redes & Telecom (in Spanish). 19 December 2011.
  19. ↑ Flores, Chema (25 February 2016). "Cabify se fija en Andalucía llevando a Málaga su servicio de pedida instantánea". El Economista (in Spanish).
  20. ↑ "Cabify empieza a prestar sus servicios en Murcia y Cartagena". La Opinión de Murcia (in Spanish). 5 March 2019.
  21. ↑ Casado, Ángela (24 April 2019). "Cabify empieza a operar hoy en Santander solo con taxis". El Diario Montañés (in Spanish).
  22. ↑ "Cabify llega a Sevilla". Marketing Directo (in Spanish). 23 September 2016.
  23. ↑ "Cabify llega a Valencia con un servicio de chófer para competir con el taxi". Valencia Plaza (in Spanish). 18 November 2014.
  24. ↑ "Cabify abre servicio en Zaragoza y suma diez capitales de provincia donde trabaja". El Español (in Spanish). 4 March 2020.
  25. ↑ Lomas, Natasha (2018-07-26). "Uber and Cabify pause services in Barcelona after taxi strike turns violent". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  26. ↑ Uber, Cabify drivers strike in Madrid to protest against planned law changes, Reuters.com, 27 september 2018
  27. ↑ Sam Jones, Uber and Cabify to suspend operations in Barcelona, Theguardian.com, 31 January 2019
  28. ↑ Natasha Lomas, Cabify returns to Barcelona with a workaround for ride-hailing wait limits, Techcrunch.com, 7 March 2019
  29. ↑ "Cabify gets €40 million EIB-backing to drive in zero-emission fleet in Spain by 2025". Tech.eu. 2022-05-11. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  30. ↑ "European Investmen Bank - Cabify".
  31. ↑ Keane, Jonathan. "Cabify To Pump $20 Million Into New Logistics Unit". Forbes. Retrieved 13 Oct 2022.
  32. 1 2 Carlos Morales (February 2016). "Cabify renueva su app y anuncia expansión en México". Forbes (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  33. ↑ Carlos Salazar (26 June 2013). "Emprendedor español de los taxis de lujo comparte las claves del éxito" (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  34. ↑ "¿Usas taxis en Lima? La app Cabify te interesará" (in Spanish). Terra. 15 March 2013. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  35. ↑ Jair López (8 May 2016). "Doble Hoy No Circula dispara uso de Cabify e Easy Taxi" (in Spanish). El Financiero. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  36. ↑ "Cabify baja su tarifa mínima en México" (in Spanish). ebiz Latam. 11 April 2016. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  37. ↑ "Cabify recaudará dinero para el Fondo de las Naciones Unidas para la Infancia" (in Spanish). Códice Informativo. 26 April 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  38. ↑ Daniel Higa (25 April 2016). "Cabify busca ser una de las mejores plataformas de transporte en Latinoamérica" (in Spanish). Bolsamania. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  39. 1 2 3 Guillermo Tomoyose (15 April 2016). "Después de Uber llega Cabify, otro servicio para pedir viajes con chofer". La Nacion (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  40. ↑ Luiz Mazetto (27 April 2016). "Rival do Uber, espanhola Cabify chega ao Brasil aberta aos táxis" (in Portuguese). IDG. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  41. ↑ "Empresa española de transporte Cabify se expandirá a Panamá" (in Spanish). El Siglo. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  42. ↑ Oriana Fernández G. (16 April 2016). "Cabify se expande a la V Región y hace exigencias a choferes" (in Spanish). La Tercera. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  43. 1 2 "Cabify llegará a Medellín y la Costa Caribe" (in Spanish). El Espectador. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  44. ↑ Ana Campoy, The gruesome murder of a Mexican teenager is exposing the risks of ride-sharing apps, Qz.com, 16 September 2017
  45. 1 2 Ingrid Lunden (20 April 2016). "Cabify raises $120m at a $320m valuation led by Rakuten to take on Uber in Latin America". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  46. ↑ Natasha Lomas (1 April 2014). "Uber Competitor Cabify Closes $8M Series A To Accelerate In LatAm". TechCrunch. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  47. ↑ C. Otto (22 April 2016). "El 'fenómeno Beatriz González': la hija del presidente del BBVA triunfa con las 'startups'" (in Spanish). El Confidencial. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  48. 1 2 3 Tobias Buck, Leslie Hook (12 October 2015). "Spanish taxi-booking app Cabify secures funding from Rakuten". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  49. 1 2 3 Marisol Ramirez (27 March 2013). "Taxi seguro en tu celular" (in Spanish). El Universal. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  50. ↑ Yoko Kubota (20 April 2016). "Rakuten Raises Investment in Latin America Ride-Hailing App Cabify". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  51. 1 2 Unai Mezcua (8 May 2016). "Cabify, el "taxi VIP" español en el que se quiere inspirar Uber" (in Spanish). ABC. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  52. ↑ "3 apps para pedir taxi desde tu móvil ¡Las probamos!" (in Spanish). Uno Cero. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  53. ↑ "Estudio determina el comportamiento de los usuarios de taxis vía smartphones en Chile" (in Spanish). Tendencias. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original on 20 June 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  54. ↑ Ara Rodríguez (21 January 2014). "Cabify se renueva y apunta a Latinoamérica" (in Spanish). Hipertextual. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  55. ↑ Jesús Martínez (16 February 2016). "Cabify se rearma con nuevos fondos para competir con Uber" (in Spanish). El Español. Archived from the original on 2016-04-22. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  56. 1 2 Laurence Dollimore (8 May 2016). "Spanish ride-sharing app receives €106m in funding". Olive Press. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  57. ↑ "Cabify quiere plantar cara a Uber y crecer en América Latina". El País (in Spanish). 3 May 2016.
  58. ↑ Eduardo Arcos (5 June 2014). "Cabify anuncia "Cabify Taxi" para ampliar su oferta de transporte vía app" (in Spanish). Hipertextual. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  59. 1 2 El Mercurio (14 May 2016). "Cabify contraataca y lanza servicio con tarifas hasta 40% más baratas" (in Spanish). Economia y negocios. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  60. ↑ "Cabify lanza servicio enfocado para discapacitados". Forbes (in Spanish). 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  61. ↑ Jairo Straccia, Rosalia Draletti (23 April 2016). "En medio de la pelea por Uber, en mayo desembarcaría Cabify" (in Spanish). Perfil. Archived from the original on 2016-04-26. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  62. ↑ Agren, David (18 September 2017). "Outrage as Mexican student killed after using ride-hailing service". The Guardian.
  63. ↑ Elena Arrieta (3 June 2014). "¿Tu 'start up' podría ser global? Haz las maletas y vete a EEUU" (in Spanish). Expansión. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  64. ↑ Fernandez, Javier G. (28 July 2016). "Cabify prevé superar los 100 millones de euros de facturación en 2016" (in Spanish). Expansion. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  65. ↑ Munoz, Ramon (20 April 2016). "Cabify consigue una inversión de 106 millones para su expansión" (in Spanish). Economia. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  66. ↑ "Si pides un Cabify en Madrid, ya puedes pagar en efectivo". Auto Bild (in Spanish). 26 November 2018.
  67. ↑ "Cabify se une al sistema de pagos en efectivo". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 16 February 2018.
  68. ↑ "Cabify insists 'we are not cabs' as startup fights to avoid ban in Spain". The Local. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  69. ↑ Luca Costantini (27 November 2015). "Los tribunales rechazan cerrar la aplicación de alquiler de coches Cabify". El Pais (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  70. ↑ "Taxistas realizan nueva manifestación en Santiago contra Uber y Cabify" (in Spanish). 24 horas. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  71. ↑ "Famosos participan de polémica campaña en apoyo a Cabify" (in Spanish). BioBio Chile. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  72. ↑ "A un día del paro de taxistas, sancionan a Cabify con millonaria multa". elespectador.com. El Espectador. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
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