Tuk Tuk App to connect 100,000 tuk base in Sri Lanka by 2017

Nearly a year since launch Tuk Tuk Network’s mobile app that only charges Rs. 100 per month from taxi drivers for giving them hires, it is now positioning to become the leading taxi network in the country with 100,000 tuks by the end of 2017.

Sri Lanka’s Tuk Tuk App’s Tuk Tuk Network owning company Frontier Capital Partners Ltd.’s CEO Nishan Sumanadeera said his investment has the potential to reach 20% of Sri Lanka’s tuk tuks with nearly 6,000 tuk tuks already being registered to offer services to thousands of Sri Lankan commuters. 

Tuk Tuk App makes it easy to get any ride across Sri Lanka via downloading from www.tuktuk.club. Having the largest network of registered three wheelers in the country Tuk Tuk Network offers the convenience of finding any tuk tuk driver or any cab company even individual transportation service providers with the latest upgraded app that allows you to send a SMS to get a ride as fast as possible. The app also welcome registrations from all the tuks tuks and cab services to register by typing reg (space) tuk (space) <vehicle number> and sending an SMS to 87711.

“We are not a taxi hailing company but we are a taxi network and we are not in competition with any of the taxi hailing companies,” Sumanadeera pointed out. He said that Tuk Tuk Network’s primary objective is to uplift the living standard of the tuk drivers and reduce pollution and traffic whilst providing connectivity with passenger for at a nominal charge of Rs. 100 per month from each tuk tuk. 

The company also aims to provide variety of services needed for tuk tuk industry through tying up with industry related partners to offer services such as affordable spare parts, affordable leasing solutions to buy new tuks whilst a subsidiary of Frontier Capital Partners, Global Media Networks, had come up with a novel concept to monetise the interior of tuk tuks, making it a space to market and brand products for advertising industry which would also benefit tuk tuk drivers at large to earn extra income. 

Sumanadeera highlighted that tuk tuk service is a unique one as they use the island-wide Dialog Axiata tower base to connect and identify driver location with maximum accuracy in addition to Global Positioning System (GPS). This enables any driver with any type of phone both smart phone and non- smart phone drivers to connect with the Tuk Tuk Network from anywhere in Sri Lanka. 

Tuk Tuk App also allows you to compare rates for different drivers and the app provide you an estimated fare for your trip. No credit cards are involved and therefore no risk in using the app whilst all transactions are handled manually between the driver and the passenger.

“Technology, mobility and transport together represent a central socio-political issue in today’s world and present Sri Lanka,” Sumandeera stressed, adding that mobility is a fundamental need in modern society – a prerequisite for economic success, social prosperity, and general satisfaction of all in society.

“There are over 1.1 million tuk tuks registered in Sri Lanka as of 2015 and at an average three people depend on a tuk tuk income and sometimes a maximum of up to five people depend on TukTuk travel” Sumanadeera added. He went on to say that this tuk tuk industry affects over eight million of the population which is almost 40% of Sri Lankans and that company’s strategy is to reach the eight million population and offer varied services to drivers and passengers.

Nishan Sumanadeera, an investment banker by profession, said his venture had already been fruitful reaching over a network of tuk tuks in four main cities; Colombo, Negombo, Kandy and Galle whilst the company’s network had also reached Jaffna. 

According to him, his risk appetite on investing in ‘Modern Affordable Housing, Affordable Transport, Mobile Technology, Internet and Mobile Gaming and Media’ will be a well-diversified futuristic strategy in emerging economies as the world continues to transform with modern technologies amidst various political and economic constraints. 

Sumanadeera is the founder and Managing Partner of Frontier Capital Partners Ltd. (FCPL) that has come up with investments such as modern affordable housing trailblazer Hybrid Homes and the country’s first stock market simulator game VStoX, apart from the Tuk Tuk App. 

A leading investment banker in post-war Sri Lanka, Sumanadeera is a multifaceted professional with over 20 years of experience in investment banking, corporate law and accounting whilst he and his investment bank FCPL facilitated the conglomeration conversion of three major companies – Lankem Group, LOLC Group and Softlogic Group – in post-war Sri Lanka from 2009-2013.

Frontier Capital Partners led by Sumanadeera and team in 2009 facilitated the C.W. Mackie sale for Lankem Group worth over Rs. 1.4 billion, in 2010 Confifi Hotel Group sale for LOLC and Browns group worth Rs. 2.5 billion and in 2011 Softlogic Holdings’ proposed acquisition of Asian Alliance Insurance worth over Rs. 3.3 billion and in 2013 a placement of 10% shareholdings of National Development Bank (NDB) for a consortium of investors including the Softlogic Group.