LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Central London businesses are set to save thousands on London taxi costs, currently spent through the traditional taxi account services. GetTaxi launches its GPS based taxi ordering and dispatch service today enabling businesses to order London Black Taxis online, through a personalised company web portal and via a mobile app at a fraction of the cost of the traditional taxi account charges.
Based on a £20 journey with a 15 minute waiting time, GetTaxi is typically 17% to 24% cheaper than using account services such as Dial a Cab, ComCab and Radio Taxis.* The London Black Taxi market for business account services is thought to be worth in excess of £100million per year.
Neal Fullman, CEO of GetTaxi said:
“GetTaxi is a long-awaited,
fairer deal for businesses looking to use London black taxis. Our unique
technology means we can provide a fast, reliable and extremely safe way
to order a Black cab at a fraction of the cost charged by the
traditional account services. It is estimated that businesses spent £100
million last year with the major account services, much of which was
wasted on admin fees and handling charges to pay for expensive
over-resourced operations centres. Our GPS technology avoids having a
large staff base and call centres, so we are able to pass massive
savings onto our business clients.
“We are signing up an average of 300 drivers per week, and are on track to exceed our target of 2000 drivers by the end of the year, offering a footprint of taxis in central London every bit as a widespread as the traditional taxi services.”
GetTaxi allows Smartphone users (iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Nokia) to order a taxi at the tap of a button on their mobile device or via a web interface. The GetTaxi mobile app geographically locates the passenger via GPS and issues their request to the closest available taxis via GetTaxi’s special driver units. Once the booking has been accepted by the driver, a confirmation notification is sent to the passenger containing the driver’s photo, personal and vehicle details, estimated time of arrival and a GoogleMap showing their real-time progress to the pickup address.
Fullman continued:
“For businesses we offer an extremely secure, transparent and cost effective service so employees can travel home safely. It’s a service that means business people don’t need to rely on a PA or receptionist telling them when a cab has arrived. The passenger’s mobile device receives notifications on the progress of their taxi and gets told the minute the taxi arrives, so they know when to leave their office or meeting, minimising wasted time and avoiding waiting time charges.
“Unlike solely app-based taxi services, our offer doesn’t rely on drivers having an iPhone! The reality is that no driver in the UK can use a mobile whilst the engine is switched on, whether that be to make a call or use an App. Our system is based on a long-term strategy to provide choice to drivers, businesses and consumers, with drivers using a discreet vehicle-compliant unit, based on GPS technology.”
On the ordering side, GetTaxi creates a dedicated profile page for each business with its very own GetTaxi button. A taxi will be dispatched to the business address whenever that button is clicked. The passenger or whoever booked the taxi, such as a PA or receptionist, can view the status of the taxi’s arrival in real time. Businesses can upload their entire staff list, set permissions and rules for taxi usage, and GetTaxi will provide it’s mobile app to all employees free of charge.
Passengers can also rate the driver, save their pick-up and destination addresses and share their ride details instantly with their friends on social networks including Twitter and Facebook. Business can also accumulate Taxi Miles no matter who rides - so you can collect points for every order placed and use them to redeem gifts and free rides.
The UK market consists of around 25,000 London licensed Black Taxis. In developing the product, GetTaxi has consulted with the LTDA, the PCO/TfL and Ambassador Drivers who have been discretely testing the service. Visit the official GetTaxi UK website at www.gettaxi.com
Ends
*Based on a £20 journey time with a 15 minute waiting time, costs include booking fees, gratuity, handling charges and other charges.
Notes To Editors
For more information about GetTaxi, visit
the official UK website www.gettaxi.com