Uber lands in Asia and stays to true to its launch first, ask later strategy

Uber has brought its premium taxi calling app to Singapore—the first country in Asia to get it. The company has been trialing its service here for the past week. According to users who have tried it out here, it runs Mercedes Benz S-Class sedans, setting it above the usual smaller Toyota cabs that the dominant service, ComfortDelGro runs.

Of course, it charges a premium for the luxury, and fares are about 50 percent more costly than the regular cab, going for about $5 as a base charge and costing $10 as a minimum fare on top of that. Here’s the price list for Singapore.

The company is planning its official launch in the island state around late February, and has started hiring a small base of local staff.