Launched today, the service has already attracted 100 delivery riders and 300 drivers in less than two weeks, and there are plans to grow exponentially over the next few months.

“We are targeting 4,500 to 5,000 delivery riders and 10,000 drivers,” said the company’s chief strategy evangelist, Gerard Pillai.

“This is the target for the new year. We are looking at a six-month time frame.”

Pillai said Transporter aimed to offer the most cost-effective services to passengers and customers, and hoped it would help alleviate the widespread job and income loss in Malaysia because of the Covid-19 crisis.

He noted the surge in demand for e-hailing and delivery services during the pandemic, and was confident its policy of affordable, safe and hygienic rides would carve out a niche in the market.

He said the company’s Lend A Hand programme did not charge any commission for food and beverage (F&B) deliveries, “a cost-effective proposition for providers which also makes deliveries more affordable for consumers”.

About 150 F&B merchants have come onboard with the company, which aims to increase it to 500 by the end of February.

Transporter is already active in the Klang Valley and there are plans to expand to Sabah and Sarawak, which Pillai said were untapped markets for e-hailing and delivery services.

He said the company was not out to compete with the more established names in the industry, and was banking on quality service with courteous riders to stand out from the crowd.

“We aren’t going to compete in a price war,” he said. “If we do, all hell would break loose.”