AB Majlis podcast: Hala Taxi app holds 37% of Dubai's e-hailing market despite new competition
Ride-hailing service Hala, a joint venture between Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Careem, now commands 37 per cent of Dubai's e-hailing market as it expands its green vehicle fleet amid rising competition, its CEO said.
In an interview on the Arabian Business podcast AB Majlis, Hala CEO Khaled Nuseibeh revealed the company grew its customer base by 21 per cent year-on-year while increasing trips by 17 per cent, despite new market entrants like Yango and Bolt.
'Competition is always healthy for every industry. It forces players to compete. It forces players to come up with different ways to raise the bar and innovate,' Nuseibeh told the podcast.
Launched in 2019, Hala was created to digitise Dubai's taxi service, transforming how residents and tourists book and use taxis in the emirate. Prior to Hala, customers had to either hail taxis on the street or call a booking service.
The company has also improved its reliability by 11 percentage points while experiencing growth, a metric Nuseibeh highlighted as crucial to the service's success.
'It's beautiful when you're growing, and your customers are happy, and you're also improving on your reliability,' he said. 'Reliability… means people can depend on us. It means they can use us, and it means they can continuously count on Hala for their journeys.'
Nuseibeh, who previously worked at Careem before and during its acquisition by Uber, attributed Hala's continued success to its deep understanding of the local market and close partnership with the RTA.
'We have a very deep understanding of the city. We've been in Dubai for a long time. We really understand our customer base, our captains, and we understand what it takes to actually solve for reliability and convenience,' he said.
The company has recently diversified its offerings by introducing electric vehicles in high-demand areas like Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah at no additional cost to customers. Nuseibeh said the initiative has saved nearly 97 million grams of CO2 emissions since launch, equivalent to a car driving approximately 293,000 kilometres.
'We've seen that customers are quite generally happy,' Nuseibeh said regarding the EV rollout. 'As this technology matures, as you see more and more cars come into play, you will see more of these vehicles shift into becoming green vehicles.'
He added that Hala will support the RTA's pledge to make 100 per cent of its vehicles eco-friendly by 2027.
The company has also introduced new technologies to enhance customer experience, including WhatsApp booking capabilities aimed primarily at tourists who may not have the Careem app installed.
'We saw tourists actually want an easier way to book if they don't have the Careem map, which is like a stepping stone, you can just book a Hala immediately from your WhatsApp service,' he explained.
When asked about potential future developments like flying or autonomous taxis, Nuseibeh said Hala would 'follow the lead of the RTA in any new technology that is regulated.'
'The most important thing for us is in adopting any new technology. We would always make sure that this technology has to be safe and efficient and caters to customer needs,' he added, suggesting autonomous vehicles would eventually work alongside human drivers during a transition period.
Regarding brand recognition, Nuseibeh highlighted how 'Hala' has become synonymous with taxi booking in Dubai's vernacular, with residents commonly saying they will 'book a Hala' rather than a taxi.
'It seems we've done our work correctly. We've managed to really create that engagement with our customers,' he said.
The company recently launched a marketing campaign called 'Real Icons of Dubai' celebrating the everyday users of the service, including working families, busy professionals, and tourists.
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