After the recent launch of electronic payments in all Hong Kong taxis, the city’s ubiquitous contactless payment system Octopus has also expanded its ecosystem to include ride-hailing services. The Easy Ride platform lives within the Octopus app itself, providing a one-stop solution for Hong Kong commuters and tourists alike to book and pay for cabs. Here’s what we know about this convenient alternative to Uber.
What is Octopus Easy Ride?
Easy Ride is Octopus’ ride-hailing service that partners with multiple taxi fleets and other ride-hailing platforms. The great thing about this service is that, since it’s already native to the Octopus system, users can pay directly using their Octopus card, Mobile Octopus, or Octopus Wallet directly in-app, without the need to link a credit card like most other ride-hailing apps require. If you’re in Hong Kong, you will likely already have an Octopus card, which means that barely any setup is needed to start using Easy Ride.
What kinds of cars are available on Octopus Easy Ride?
At this initial stage, there are already about 8,000 vehicles circulating on Easy Ride. Vehicle choices include the standard four-seater taxis, more luxurious six-seaters, XL cars suitable for travelling with luggage, as well as wheelchair-accessible vehicles. These are all available to choose from when requesting rides.
Users are also able to easily compare fares across Hong Kong’s newer taxi fleets such as BigBoss Taxi, Joie Taxi, GodTaxi, and more, with transparent pricing shown for all vehicle tiers.
How is Octopus Easy Ride different from Uber?
The functionality of Easy Ride is very similar to Uber. Simply open the Octopus app, navigate to the Transport Services then the Easy Ride option, input your destination and pickup location, and the system will generate a real-time fare. This is where things differ slightly. Unlike in Uber, where the price shown is what you’ll get charged, Easy Ride’s estimate does not include tolls incurred for using tunnels, highways, and other charges like excess luggage.
Since the final fare might not necessarily be the fare that you have prepaid for the trip, users will be notified in-app when the prepaid amount is more than the final fare, in which case there will be a direct refund of the difference; or when additional payment is required when the final fare exceeds the prepaid amount. Simply click on the push notification to process either option.
Where can you use Octopus Easy Ride?
The Octopus ride-hailing service can be used in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, with more overseas coverage in the pipeline. This is great for travellers who don’t like clogging up their phones with different ride hailing apps for different destinations like Grab, Gojek, Tada, and more.
When can Octopus Easy Ride be used?
Service has already started on April 22, so Easy Ride is already fully functional. The next time you need to hop into a cab, try out Octopus’ new service for yourself.
For more information about Octopus Easy Ride, visit their official website.
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