Daimler (OTCMKTS:DDAIY) announced Wednesday that it has acquired RideScout and mytaxi, two smartphone applications that are aimed at expanding the ever increasing car-sharing services to customers who do not own a vehicle.
Although the new ride-sharing services are disrupting the taxi industry and causing a wave of dissatisfaction in some business areas as well as government, Daimler noted that the latest move isn’t meant at all to take a jab at the taxi sector. It wants to avoid the entire controversy brought on by various online ride-sharing services, like Uber.
The car-maker purchased Hamburg-based mytaxi through its subsidiary moovel GmbH. This app, which was created in 2009, gives customers the opportunity to find a cab, track its progress, rate the ride and pay for the service through the smartphone. RideScout is an app founded in 2011 that assists individuals getting to their location through the means of public and private transportation in addition to ride-sharing.
“We are investing further in the development and growth of urban mobility in North America, Germany and other parts of the world,” said Robert Henrich, CEO at moovel GmbH, in a statement. “Our mutual objectives are the expansion of our leadership role in the international market and to continue our pioneering efforts to radically simplify the future of mobility.”
The two latest acquisitions adds to moovel GmbH’s suite of similar apps, including car2go, a car-sharing service, and Park2gether, a service that tries to connect those seeking a parking space with empty ones.
“With the acquisition of myTaxi and Ride Scout we invest in the development of urban mobility in Germany, North America, and other parts of the world,” the moovel staff wrote in a blog post. “Together we want to simplify mobility radically.”
Despite the growing popularity of these services, there may be some barriers to overcome in Germany. A Frankfurt court deemed this week that Uber lacks the required legal permits to operate in the country.
