About the company
UMD (Unidad Móvil Drive) is a taxi service that began operating in Mexico City in December 2022. UMD is a local taxi company whose drivers are all part of the Jewish community in Mexico. The company has been experimenting with different service types and has achieved impressive results, growing 40% from 2023 to 2024 and 11% year-to-date from 2024 to 2025. It is now planning to expand to Costa Rica, Canada, and Miami.
Differentiating from competitors: focus on drivers & safety
In Mexico, UMD sets itself apart from other ride-hailing services, including Uber, by prioritizing its local driver community as well as customer and driver safety.
Numbers back this commitment: the company charges drivers only 18% of the trip cost, 16% goes toward taxes, and the remaining 2% helps fund vehicle renovations and insurance payments.
Safety is reinforced by equipping all cars with cameras and using Onde’s built-in features, such as the “SOS button” for customers and drivers, and the “Share My Ride” feature, which allows customers to send live trip coordinates to friends and family. In addition, UMD conducts psychometric tests during driver onboarding and rewards top performers.
This focus on driver happiness and satisfaction results in a high acceptance rate (80%) and excellent response times, with a median response time of just 5 seconds.
Service diversification: from taxis to luxury to buses
UMD began as a simple ride-hailing service for passengers, but as the company grew, it expanded into several additional service types. Currently, UMD offers a women-for-women service, as well as luxury, electric, and premium transportation options. This diversification has been highly effective: in 2025, 50% of UMD’s revenue came from its luxury service. This also contributes to the company’s relatively high average trip cost of $15.
The women-for-women service is also very popular, aligned with UMD’s emphasis on safety. According to the company’s founder, when selecting new services, they prioritized the needs of their community, and women-for-women was the first additional service they introduced.
The premium transportation service is unique in the region and also positively contributes to UMD’s revenue. This service operates by prior reservation, uses a 16-seat bus, costs around $100 per trip, and is ideal for group transportation.
Choosing the right software
It took UMD two months of software options research to choose Onde. Their selection criteria included safety features, ease of use, responsive technical support, and the ability to support multiple service types.
Key points of success
- Focusing on the local community and driver satisfaction
- Offering diverse service types, including niche options
- Choosing a platform that fits the company’s business needs
