New Dubai ridesharing app promises cheaper fares for customers

XXRIDE will expand to other emirates 'within the next month'

XXRIDE officially launches on Tuesday in Dubai, offering the same ride-hailing services as Uber and Careem. Photo: XXRIDE

A new ride-hailing app promising lower fares to customers has been unveiled in Dubai.

Licensed by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority, XXRIDE will be officially launched on Tuesday in the emirate and will offer the same services as established apps such as Uber and Careem.

However, its rates will be lower due to how it collects its fees. Instead of charging a per-ride commission, XXRIDE will collect a monthly fixed net amount of Dh202 ($55) from registered drivers who use the app, according to the driver agreement information available on its website.

Drivers operating the app will earn the full fare for the journey, except for the authority's Dh5 charge applicable to any ride made from Dubai and the third-party payment systems charge.

The saving on the per-ride commission is passed on to customers, who can choose from five categories of rides — Select, Luxury, Electric, XXXL and Family. All vehicles will be luxury cars such as Lexus and Mercedes models.

As is the case with Careem and Uber, the car, driver and time of arrival will be shown on a map on the app.

XXRIDE said it has signed several long-term partnerships with various approved and licensed limousine companies in Dubai.

On a quick survey of rates carried out by The National, compared with Uber and Careem, the rates were slightly lower on XXRIDE but not as cheap as those of Hala (Dubai Taxi), which is also available on the Careem app.

Dubai is the launch city for XXRIDE, whose parent company XXRIDE Technologies is registered in London.

It has plans to expand the app into other emirates “within the next month”, after which it will expand to several “Arab and international destinations".

The XXRIDE app is available on the iOS and Android stores.

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