Ride-hailing service Uber is the talk of the town now. Although this very concept of 'Uberisation' is new in Bangladesh, Uber isn't the first or only ride-hailing service operating in the country. In the last couple of years, we have seen a significant number of local startups (some backed by foreign VCs) getting into the ride-hailing business. Some of these services are very good, providing premium ride quality and levels of service. Others are not so great, but get the job done somewhat. Here are some of the few that caught our attention:

For a company well-known pretty much everywhere in the world, Uber sure has its fair share of controversy. Recently, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has declared that the service is illegal, after it failed to obtain necessary permissions from the concerned authorities. This comes less than a week after its launch.

Plenty of confusion with what is Uber. Is it anyone’s car that is lying around? Is it a taxi? Is it a plane? The confusion stems from Uber itself for pretending to be like Johnny Depp: reclusive and quiet. Except Depp can handle the grief. Can Uber?

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