In New York City, where Uber and Lyft dominate the ride-hail app market, a newcomer is trying to break in with a model where riders pay less and drivers make more. 

Kay Woo says he has recruited more than 53,000 drivers for his Taxi and Limousine Commission-licensed ride-hail app, Throo. 

Woo is the CEO of Throo’s Singapore-based parent company, TADA. He has been visiting a LaGuardia Airport wait lot trying to convince drivers to sign up, promising they’ll make more money than with Uber and Lyft. 

Drivers like Stephan Joseph say Uber and Lyft take too much commission. 

“You buy your own car, you pay your own insurance, and then you see and you pay taxes, and then you see people taking everything, which isn’t fair,” Joseph said. 

Woo says Throo has no commission, and rides cost less than they do on the other two apps. 

“We charge a $1 fee for the drivers. That’s it,” Woo said. “So we are actually creating the driver network, and then when we create the volume, we should be able to manage to make a profit.” 

Woo says Throo is already profitable in other markets including Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Thailand after launching in 2018. 

“We, as a platform and technology service, we are actually defining drivers as our customer,” he said. “We’re helping them to run their business with our software.”

After a soft launch on June 10, the Taxi and Limousine Commission, or TLC, says 2,047 drivers made 2,547 total trips in June for Throo. 

But it has a long way to go to compete with Uber and Lyft, which combined for over 20 million trips that month.

Throo also has what it says is another positive for drivers: open communication between drivers and the company to resolve conflicts and complaints from passengers.

Uber and Lyft are currently suing to stop a city law from taking effect that would mandate due process for drivers in those situations.

Other apps have tried to break up the Uber and Lyft duopoly, like Via, Gett and Revel, but they didn’t have the right business model, according to former TLC Commissioner Matthew Daus.

“None of those people had the resources and the know-how,” Daus said. “This is a real company that is from Singapore, it’s well-financed.”

“If this takes off, and the drivers like it, then you’re going to see the other platforms offering a subscription service, too, and then the model will change,” Daus added — the subscription charge being the $1-per-ride fee. 

NY1 reached out to both Uber and Lyft for comment. Only Uber responded, saying in part that legitimate competition makes the industry better.

Woo believes his app will.

“Maybe we should think differently to disrupt the existing market,” he said. “But if we keep on following the same way of doing it, there’s no chance.”