Move Over Uber -- Riding App in Brazil Helps Commuters Avoid Traffic

Brazil and the Philippines share one thing in common: traffic congestion. And while the Philippines has yet to come up with an innovative way to lessen traffic, Brazil -- especially Sao Paulo -- has a slighter edge compared to us. Its new mobile app, Voom, allows  commuters to hail a helicopter when they're stuck in traffic and needs to be somewhere, asap.

Voom, a mobile app that offers on-demand helicopter services, operates similarly like Uber and Grab. The only difference is that Voom uses helicopters to transport commuters -- not cars.

Airbus group, A3, is the brains behind Voom. Their goal is for commuters to have a faster and more comfortable way of transportation, with a faster arrival time for as little as an hour. This should include booking a flight to the actual takeoff.

"Voom has developed the technology to bring helicopter travel into the mobile age, focusing on improving helicopter capacity utilization, flexible scheduling and ensuring a delightful rider experience."

Launched as a beta version, the mobile app borrows heavily on Uber’s business concept. Voom doesn't operate the helicopter themselves. The ones who do this are RBAC 135 air taxi companies.

The process is almost the same as well. A user first needs to enter his weight, number of baggages, actual location and preferred destination. Voom will use all these information to calculate the rate.

The app is very specific in terms of instructions. For example, if it matches a user to the helipad of a nearby hotel, it will even instruct them on who to speak at the hotel so they can go to the waiting lounge.

The price rates for Voom are more expensive compared to Uber and other ride-sharing apps. However, market rates before Voom were actually ten times more compared to its rates.

Voom has also made things easier for commuters. In the past, users had to schedule in advance, and book not less than two days before their actual departure.

 "We’ve built one of the world’s first truly on-demand helicopter booking platforms that provides travelers the ultimate in convenience and reliability, yet does so in the most affordable and accessible way available today," writes Voom CEO Uma Subramanian on the company's blog.

So far, the app has received good reviews from users.

”I chose Voom because it fits within my travel budget, it's economical and it's practical," says Mr.Boyde, a Voom user.

"Those are two hours I can now use for work, which is handy given the tight schedule I have,” he adds.

Just like the Philippines, Brazil (particularly Sao Paulo) is also notorious for its poor public transportation system, losing around 10 hours per week due to traffic congestion alone.