On more industry players racing to grab market share in the growing taxi application market, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategic Management Terence Fan said: “These apps do not have to own taxis and they do not have to deal with operators on monthly leases and so on, so transactions are purely based on virtually done bookings, online or via mobile. So in terms of the marginal costs of operation, these apps have dramatically lower costs than taxi operators who have large fleets of taxis running on the road. So, on a marginal basis, it could be quite profitable. Of course, there are some upfront costs and we have to see how much business they get, whether or not they can cover these fixed costs."