Downtown dwellers can now zip around mid-Sukhumvit in tuk-tuks without the diesel fumes or noise now that an ecologically friendly rideshare service has expanded there.
Electric tuk-tuk service MuvMi has deployed 100 clean-riding vehicles to serve shoppers, residents and workers from sois Sukhumvit 3 and 51, north to New Petchaburi Road. The company already operates in give other service areas around Samyan-Siam, Ari-Intramara, Phahonyothin Road-Lat Phrao, Rattanakosin Island and Kasetsart-Sena Nikhom.
MuvMi tuk-tuks are a true ride-sharing experience, meaning drivers may accept other fares along the way if their six seats aren’t fully occupied. Commuters need only download the MuvMi app (iOS / Android), add money via bank transfer or card, then book pickup and dropoff at its many designated locations.
Fares start at THB10 and are limited to destinations within the same zone. There is no fare structure – MuvMi calculates it based on undisclosed conditions. On a Wednesday afternoon, the app said a ride from the EmQuartier shopping mall to the top of Soi Sawatdi would cost THB39 for one passenger, THB67 for two, and THB93 for the option to guarantee no other passengers would be picked up along the way.
There were many pickup and dropoff spots available, especially around BTS and MRT stations.
Such locations will be tripled by the addition of another 2,000 spots by the end of the year, according to CEO Krisada Kritayakirana of MuvMi parent company Urban Mobility Tech Co. Ltd.
The service, which operates alongside a hop-on-hop-off service in the Old Quarter called Tuk Tuk Hop, also plans to field another 200 vehicles to existing zones throughout the capital, and increase the number of EV charging stations from 15 to 45.
It’s not just a green gimmick, he said. MuvMi estimates that its current fleet of more than 100 electric tuk-tuks will mean 336,000 fewer liters of fuel consumed and 560 fewer cubic tons of carbon emissions this year.
Urban Mobility has said its Tuk Tuk Hop service served 20,000 trips in a year, since eclipsed by MuvMi’s 60,000 trips. Its vehicles were developed with the help of a Thai National Innovation Agency grant.
