The interviews, articles and blogs to do with Malta and why to relocate to Malta with eCabs on the eCabs website will fall under this tag.

Posts

How eCabs registered 120% growth post-Covid

Surviving and thriving: how eCabs registered 120% growth post-Covid

/in /by

CEO eCabs Malta

Andrew Bezzina

In this blog eCabs Malta CEO Andrew Bezzina takes us through what spurred the company’s growth post-Covid.

The transportation industry, like many others, experienced unprecedented disruption during the global pandemic.

It was a time when roads lay empty, and the future appeared uncertain.

Yet, it is precisely during these breaks in time that businesses can find opportunities for growth and transformation.

At eCabs, we seized the moment to accelerate our investment in bridging technological gaps and doubled down on our strategy to take our first steps to internationalise our technology.

Don’t get me wrong. The complete wipe-out of the business was tough, very tough. But in those difficult circumstances, we understood that survival meant more than simply weathering the storm – it meant adapting, evolving, and emerging stronger than before.

The result? Exceptional performance that massively surpassed that of 2019, our previous record-breaking year.

In fact, eCabs experienced a staggering 120% growth in ride volumes during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2019.

This is a testament not only to our performance but also to the robustness of the ride-hailing sector in Malta, clearly mirroring the global trends in mobility.

A great resetting opportunity

Surviving difficult periods requires more than just resilience – it demands a relentless commitment to continuous improvement.

We saw a great resetting opportunity in the uncertain climate of the pandemic and decided to invest. Heavily, in technology. 

At eCabs, we seized the moment to accelerate our investment in bridging technological gaps and doubled down on our strategy to take our first steps to internationalise our technology.

Andrew Bezzina, CEO eCabs Malta

Between 2020 and 2022, the company invested more than €7 million in rebuilding our ride-hailing platform from scratch.

We did this with the aim of becoming the first international ride-hailing platform owned by a Maltese company.

We leveraged our platform to open up to the partner driver model and today we sit confidently aside some of the world’s leading players in the ride-hailing market.

As we keep registering month-on-month growth, our focus is now to keep repeating what led us to this milestone: continuously enhancing our product and service offerings, ensuring fast, safe, and affordable rides for our valued customers.

We do this because we really believe that ride-hailing is part of the solution to the most pressing challenges in the transport and mobility sector.

The next chapter

This year marks a turning point for eCabs as we embark on our ambition of taking our platform to new territories.

We are excited to share our knowledge and insights. After all, this is what earned us such a robust market share and is propelling our growth in Malta.

We are now seeking to enable global taxi operations to undergo the transformation they need.

Through our expertise and tech, we are providing corporates a reliable avenue for investment in diversification, and governments the tools they need to improve their transportation future.

We know what this transition is like because we’ve already been through it ourselves. 

This next step in the eCabs story would not be possible without the support of our partners, investors and exceptional tech team who, like us, believe that ride-hailing plays a key part in unlocking our urban spaces.

Looking back on the past few years I’ve learnt that the journey of eCabs is a reminder that success is not measured by the absence of challenges but by the ability to rise above them.

Adversity, it turns out, is not a roadblock – it’s a speed bump, an opportunity for growth, a chance to reinvent oneself, and a catalyst for meaningful change.

Want to relocate to Malta with eCabs for a tech career

Want to relocate to Malta? eCabs can help!

/in , /by

This blog will set out why it makes sense to relocate to Malta with eCabs to further your tech career. It will also give you some useful information and links.

Helping new team members from all over the world to settle down is important to us.

The eCabs Technologies Recruitment team provides all our new team members coming from overseas with the assistance necessary to make a smooth transition. This helps them settle down as quickly and as comfortably as possible.

Relocation made easy

Starting a new job is always an adventure. And when you do it in a new country, it is even more exciting. And sometimes more than a little daunting.

Moving to Malta means new opportunities, but also some challenges. At eCabs, we have years of experience in assisting people from the four corners of the world looking to take their tech career to another level to work in Malta. We also have plenty of know-how, as well as a comprehensive on-boarding programme.

Employees, and their families, are guided step by step on how to relocate and settle down. This includes important steps such as finding somewhere to live and how to open a bank account. We also offer health insurance and on-site training (via a workplace buddy system).

The eCabs relocation package

  • Reimbursement of one way economy class flight from your location to Malta.
  • Hotel lodging at no cost to the employee for up to your first two weeks.
  • We will also pay for your initial work-permit application fees for non-EU personnel.

Except for EU/EEA/Swiss citizens, all foreign nationals require a single permit to work in Malta. Additionally, our Human Resources relocation team will offer advice and guidance to ensure the process is conducted as seamlessly as possible. And within the shortest feasible time.

Why relocate to Malta?

Choosing where to live is perhaps one of the most important decisions you make when you take the plunge and relocate overseas.

One of the warmest countries in Europe, moving to Malta means having access to a diverse range of activities. It also features a remarkable history, easy access by air travel, and a distinctive culture.

How to relocate to Malta with eCabs

You may prefer living in the hustle and bustle of St Julian’s (close to the eCabs Head Office). Or perhaps you’d rather go for the more tranquil north-western areas of the island.

In any case, the Recruitment team at eCabs Technologies will guide you on the basics. These range from rent, schooling and healthcare services to accessibility and quality of life.

Why eCabs?

eCabs’ vision is to create technology that enables people to live better. We look for talented and passionate people looking to grow their tech career who want to make a positive impact on the world. If all this appeals to you, please check out our current career opportunities.

Practical help and information

  • About Malta – The official site for Malta and Gozo (and its smallest island Comino) helps you to explore the islands and learn about moving to Malta without leaving your house or desk. Find out more about this country that you soon could be calling ‘home’. Learn more about its people, its cuisine, it heritage and its identity and much more. The website also contains a section where it lists events happening each month.
  • A guide for foreigners – How do I go about obtaining a residency card? Which forms do I need to fill in? What is the best way to rent a place? This website will give you an insight into all these questions and much more.

Of course, once you come to work with eCabs, our Recruitment team will be on hand to answer your queries. But it is always good to do some ‘homework’ before.

What to do if you want to work in Malta?

  • Jobsplus – EU – If you are from an EU Member state (as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein), you are eligible to live and work in Malta. This website gives you the contact details of the Jobsplus EURES team which you can speak to find out more about obtaining information about any preparatory work that should be carried out before moving to Malta. They also organise activities such as information sessions.
  • Jobsplus – TCNs – This website has useful information for any Third Country Nationals (TCNs) who would like to apply for a Maltese work / residency permit. Jobsplus also offer guidance services.
  • Residency requirements – Here, you can find out about the paperwork you will need if you intend to move permanently to Malta. There are two types of residency that you can apply for (depending on your country of origin): Ordinary Residence or Permanent Residence. You may find more information about these types of residency, as well as the Malta Global Residency Programme, on this website. You will also find information on where to go to apply for your permit.

Important services to help you relocate to Malta

  • Identity Malta – The Identity Malta Agency offers its services in the matters relating to acts of civil status, eID cards, e-passports, visas, expatriates’ affairs and more. Its Expatriates Unit takes care of the processing and issuing of residence documentation for EU and third-country nationals. 
  • Foreign Affairs – This website is a veritable treasure trove of information. This includes visa and travel advice for foreign nationals, information about business in Malta, and FAQs. There is also a Press Release section where you can keep up to date with what is happening in the Maltese Islands.

Other useful websites

Convinced that moving to Malta to work with us and further your tech career is the right decision?

Learn about what we stand for
We already know how to fix Malta’s transport nightmare

We already know how to fix Malta’s transport nightmare

/in /by

eCabs Malta CEO Dr Andrew Bezzina says that we already know what decisions need to be taken to solve Malta’s transport nightmare.

Earlier this week, figures were released by the National Statistics Office which laid bare Malta’s obsession with the personal car.    

According to the number-crunchers at the NSO, there are now more than 18,000 vehicles squeezed into every square kilometre of road in Malta – the smallest and most densely populated country in the EU.

Three in every four of these, around 14,000, are passenger vehicles – which is another way of saying personal and family cars. 

Other figures published this week, this time by the University of Malta, found that despite increased awareness of global warming and the climate crisis, younger people and students are even more attached to their cars than their elders.

It is clear to see then that Malta and the Maltese are dependent on private cars as their primary means of transport and that this doesn’t seem to be changing.   

Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard all of this.

Ten years ago, an EU-wide survey found that traffic congestion is a bigger headache for the Maltese than any other European citizen.

Since then, survey after survey has shown that traffic and mobility remain horn-honkingly present in Malta’s list of top concerns.     

Throwing millions of Euros at road projects is not working

Traffic, as we all too often say, is a nightmare.

A few years ago, a policy decision was taken to start throwing millions of Euros at road projects.

This addressed the infrastructural deficit that had persisted for several years. But it was not coupled with the necessary investment in support infrastructure for alternative means of transport.

And although it was pointed out by academics and transport experts at the time that widening roads would simply invite more congestion – the policy decision to build roads had been taken and so build more roads we did.    

Today that prediction has come true and again, as a country, we today find ourselves asking the question: How can we fix our transport system?  

Earlier this month I was a guest at the Malta Sustainability Forum, where transport experts went through the gears of discussing this problem. 

And a few days earlier my brother Matthew sat on another panel of transport thinkers, this time for an event organised by Times of Malta, on the same subject. 

Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia was also on that panel. 

He had the unenviable role of being expected to say what he is going to do to curtail private car use in front of a packed audience that included representatives of some of the island’s major car importers. 

Farrugia’s response? He is meeting stakeholders to update policy documents and decide what decisions need to be taken. 

We already know the solution to Malta’s transport nightmare

The truth is however that we already know what decisions need to be taken.

They are clearly defined in transport policy documents that have already been published.

In 2016 the National Transport Strategy for 2050 and Draft National Transport Plan 2025 were put out for public consultation.

The goal, the 2050 strategy says, is to “reduce congestion through the increased use of other transportation modes”.

The document goes on to say that to do this we must “increase societal awareness on the need for sustainable travel choices”.

Can multi-modality fix our transport nightmare?  

The solution this policy document is proposing is a concept known as multi-modality. As the name implies, the use of multiple modes of transport to get to your daily destinations.

It’s the belief that moving away from dependence on the private car by providing other reliable ways of getting from A to B can decongest our clogged urban spaces and make them better places to live.

This is a goal eCabs shares with cities around the world, and with good reason: Because reducing personal car use holds the potential to reduce the negative impacts of transport and unlock our urban spaces.

From air pollution to traffic accidents, and the vast amounts of space used for parking and new roads which instead could be used for gardens, parks, and wide-open walkways. 

To achieve this, we need policymakers to stop rewriting policy documents, which have already been written, and start implementing their recommendations. 

Changing the way we think about travel

This kind of change, however, doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

We also need to change the way we think about travel on a personal level.

Integrating walking, cycling, ferries, scooters, buses, and yes, ride-hailing too, into our travel routines is the solution.

Ride-hailing is part of this solution. One car shared by 20 people in a day is 20 cars off the road.

Operating a fleet of ride-hailing vehicles and developing the tech that supports thousands of partner drivers in Malta and beyond has given me a unique point of view on embracing this shift.  

Across the globe countries and cities that have embraced multi-modality have gone on to reap the benefits of truly livable urban spaces. 

It can work here too. 

In the Press:

The Times of Malta | Lovin’ Malta

No change without political consensus 2

“There is no change without political consensus” – eCabs Technologies CEO

/in /by

Speaking at a Times of Malta event titled ‘The Road to Reliable Public Transport’ held on Wednesday 22nd February 2023, eCabs Technologies CEO Matthew Bezzina said that the time has come for certain measures to discourage the ownership of private cars.

However, in order for these measures to be consistent, there needed to be political consensus between the government and other political parties to ensure longevity.

Mr Bezzina stressed that it is no use for one government to agree to implement certain measures only to see them ignored or buried by the subsequent government.

“If we’re going to introduce paid on-street parking, it cannot succeed if it clashes with the car-centric policy we’ve been implementing,” he stated.

Mr Bezzina compared the situation to separated parents who have custody of a child, saying that they both must agree on certain rules. “For instance, if they both say no to junk food, the child benefits overall. This is the kind of political consensus that we need.”

The real cost of ‘public real estate’

Mr Bezzina also highlighted that parked cars are taking up an overwhelming amount of public space. Here again, political consensus was needed to find a solution, he said. He noted that parking spaces take up two-thirds of Maltese roads. Moreover, 75 percent of parked cars are on public land.

“Those could be bus lanes, scooter lanes, wider pavements, or avenues of trees. We have to see the opportunity in these spaces and truly consider the cost of this public real estate. What can we do with all this space that cars are occupying without contributing anything?”

One solution could lie within the ride hailing industry, as part of a transport mix towards sustainable multimodality that can unclog the roads on the densest country in the EU.

No change without political consensus

Other speakers at the event included Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Dr Aaron Farrugia, economist Marie Briguglio, Malta Public Transport General Manager Konrad Pulé, and Head of Geography and Director of the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development at the University of Malta Professor Maria Attard.

You can read more and watch the full event here.

eCabs cab company of choice

eCabs is cab company of choice in Malta Today survey

/in /by

The St Julian’s-based company eCabs is the cab company of choice for commuters, followed by Bolt, a Polar survey on private taxis has found.

eCabs is the preferred choice of 50.8% of people and its popularity cuts across all age groups and all regions, while Bolt is the preferred choice of 22.4% of people, being more popular among the younger audiences. Cool, the ride sharing service, is the preferred choice of 2.6% of people, while 7% prefer other services and 16.3% provided no answer.

On a geographical basis, eCabs is strongest in the South-Eastern region with 59.7% of people indicating it as their taxi company of choice. Its lowest score is in Gozo with 37.3%. But Gozo is also the area with highest rate of non-answers and with the other services (12.4%) featuring strongly.

Bolt’s strongest preference is in the Northern Harbour region with 26%. Additionally, in Gozo, Bolt just edges out ‘other services’ with 12.5% indicating it as a their preferred taxi company.

eCabs is cab company of choice among those with post-secondary education

Bolt is most popular among the tertiary educated (35.3%). It is least popular among those with a primary education (8.1%). However, those with a primary education are also the most likely not to use taxi companies.

eCabs is most popular among those with a post-secondary education (58.2%). Conversely, it is least popular among those with a primary education (38.6%). Among the tertiary educated, eCabs scores 50%.

When asked how would they hail a taxi, a relative majority prefer doing so by telephone (48%), followed by online means (42%).

Online is preferred method of those aged between 16 and 35

Online is overwhelmingly the preferred method of those aged between 16 and 35 (70.8%) and those aged between 36 and 50 (56.7%).

The tide shifts to telephone among those aged 51 and over.

The survey was carried out between Monday 5 April 2021 and Friday 9 April 2021. 647 respondents opted to complete the survey. Stratified random sampling based on region, age and gender was used to replicate the Maltese demographic. The estimated margin of error is 4.9% for a confidence interval of 95% for the overall results. Demographic and sub-group breakdowns have significantly larger margins of error.

In the press:

Malta Today