Taxi Driver Online

Apps taxi booking is becoming attractive to profiteers like your self etc, truth though there is no back up compared to an existing Radio Circuit operating An APP booking system, existing App booking is well established in Edinburgh and i cant see you making significant ground, my app is free and no charge, i have full back up support and i know the full fleet advertise our App, the customer has quick and easy access if they need back up support too, dealing with companies like yours is going to be difficult for both driver and customer as drivers have already stated in previous posts.

Exisiting circuits well we know where they operate from, where do you operate, how long and how much experiance do you have of the Taxi Trade, How can you gaurantee safety of bank account details and a very big etc.

My advice to Taxi drivers is stay well away from profiteers infiltrating our Trade, join an established Circuit which most now offer App booking, or if you prefer working the street don't get involved with these overnight companies, saturation and allowing or buying in to schemes like this are whats killing OUR trade, don't encourage them ffs.

But hey its only my opinion

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Alway's been about Tightening the Grip!

Just point to note: How safe is this APP, google it, check out are APPs safe from hacking and you will find out how unsafe APPS really are from Hackers, your bank details not mine

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Alway's been about Tightening the Grip!

Well this a a bit harsh in my opinion, as for profiterring, even that is very rich coming from someone who make their living from being a taxi operator and renting radios and probably even taxis. You might say, well this is my business and unless businesses have changed they all "profiteer" in your words, some may call it making a living.

I shall assume I know which company this is in the City and whilst taking nothing away from your app, as I have seen it in action, you might have missed the point.
I also agree that the Radio circuit is well established and so it should be

Your App is free of charge to the drivers because it is your company (I assume) and as stated you already make money from the radios and rental of cabs
As we have 20 staff at HO I fail to see how you can scaremonger people into thinking we can't provide back up.

If as you state you " dealing with companies like yours is going to be difficult for both driver and customer" Best you inform the 6000 London cabbies that are using a similar APP.

I would love you to explain why in 2012 passengers still want to queue up at a rank, wait outside a pub/club/or restaurant in the rain when there is no need to do so anymore.

If you believe this App is "killing the trade" my only conclusion is you have lost the plot

Do you still want the cabs to drive around empty or don't you want them to earn more money? Why dont you want them picking up a fare on the way back to a rank EMPTY

Or are the radios going off every 5 minutes given them another job, highly unlikely as I have see them waiting an hour or so for a fare at the ranks.

As for bank accounts, we guarantee the safety in the same way that all major institutions do both offline and online and they are stored on a secure server like they should be of which we have no access to

I will give one simple scenario for visitors to your fine City

Do they (A) search for a Taxi App in Edingburgh, highly unlikely, (B) ask someone in a pub/club etc etc for a number or (C) press the button on our app that will work no matter where they are?

Your App will also work anywhere, alas you have no other custom except for your Own City and I guess thats what is needed

People using your app will only ever have access to one taxi Company and not the rest of the drivers

As stated I like you App, but your App is for the people of Edingburgh and not really any use for visitors as they would only use it, if by a miracle of chance they found it in the app store.

You ask where we operate from, Every Major City in the UK, with roll out as we speak

john cc

It appears to me you have little knowledge of the Edinburgh taxi business


Except at really busy times usually early sat and sun mornings any one who wants a cab can easily obtain one either on the street instantly or within a few mins

or via the three excellent radio companies, normally within 10 mins

a quick sum for you to think about, the same amount of customers dont bring in any more work

Not every street or radio cab drives back to a rank empty, you are also making it sound like every cab using this app will have constant work


The only thing this app might do is transfer some of the work from the radio companies to street cars

Most street cars drivers dont want the hassle of a system. And at busy times when it appears to me this will be the only real time a decent amount of punters will use this, they will still be walking in the rain, waiting at ranks, as the street cars will be busy working the streets and the radio companies servicing there radio work

No street car is going to drive past work on the street to service your app and no central ,city or comcab driver is going to bump radio work to help you either i doubt they would even be allowed to operate both systems as it seems to me they conflict

Let's do a survey of opinion, everyone Google, Are APPs safe from Hacking ?

I'm working just now but tonight will be happy to debate many of your points, you show a massive lack of knowledge of the taxi business John and its not coming across to well !!!

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Alway's been about Tightening the Grip!

How do you work the above out

If the punter had walked out into the street they would get a hack

If they called central, comcab or city they would get a hack

You dont always reach point b without someone signaling for you

Basicly we will paying a £1 for work which in one way or another we are all ready sharing

For this to be of any real benefit to Edinburgh taxi drivers it would have to bring in additional work so assuming the said work is already within edinburgh and the said work is requiring a hack, why should we pay a £1 for work we will get and all share anyway???

For every £1 we give to outsiders that is £1 less for the edinburgh taxi trade

I'd say it's more beneficial to peeps like myself who are just street cabs with no radio

I will leave any other replies to the person who actually is the manager for this area and concentrate on my own, where indeed major operators have taken this onboard, including Chairman of various NTA's and taxi associations and indeed owners of taxi (Hackney)firms. I shall now go and check how Liverpool got on with their launch after the backing and full support of the Unions and NTA

That reply is a bit hard to understand

E7fan

I really doubt at the end of any given year you will be better off, and when you consider the hassle of traveling then trying to find the customer in a busy bar as im guessing most of this work will be pub work stag and hen parties ect ect ect its just not worth it.

If you want additional work, in my opinion you would be better off in a radio company

Now think about this if no one signs up to this

no one is paying a £1 and we are all still sharing the work

A radio circuit is no good for me. I single shift the cab ie no driver and my hours are very irregular. Radio dues are circa 300 quid a month in Glasgow now IIRC. Just thought it was something worth considering as I would only pay for it if I actually used it, whereas with a circuit I have to cough up even if I didn't get any jobs. I was lucky if I was doing enough radio work to cover my dues. Even worse when I go on hols, I would come back home to a bill for a month's dues. No ta....that's why I gave up my radio. The circuit used to give you 2 free weeks at holiday time but stopped it.
Will see what happens and may give the app, not especially this one there may be others, a try if it comes here.......

Johncc is doing a fine job explaining the benefits of mobile phone apps.

But lets himself down a bit suggesting faults in his competition. And he couldn’t answer where his app didn’t have one.
cab:app is my choice and I will try and answer for it because that’s the way cabapp works. I am a driver. It is a drivers app.
The guy behind it is a driver, he is still a driver and I met him when he toured the country in his cab.
He is passionate about the Industry, and amongst other things winning back work from PHC cars.
He understood all the issues we raised and his app is designed for us. He wants to unite Taxi drivers.
10% of the taxis in my town have agreed and signed up in a matter of weeks. Looking at a public launch very soon.
Drivers have signed up to my knowledge already in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. If we are all wrong then it has cost us nothing.


cab:app can be tailored to suit local rates, distances, zones, etc. Drivers in any area can get on board and decide for themselves, providing of course they are within local laws.
cab:app offers a free to drivers credit card facility, customers use it by choice or pay cash. Drivers offer it by choice or do cash only work
cab:app is 50p per job. Fixed fares over longer distances are £1.
Fixed fares are used on longer distances to attract customers at locally suitable rates. Customers like quotes for longer jobs. The driver decides if he wants the job.

cab:app has already signed drivers all over the uk, including major cities Liverpool, tailored to suit their zones,and Manchester read any facebook page.

I will start a new thread for any cab:app discussions but couldn’t let this go without reply.

Ive downloaded a few apps like these and to be honest cab:app looks the best to me. I'm in Aberdeen and some drivers have signed up and cab app are here next week so i expect more drivers to follow and sign up. It looks a well designed and easy app to use. Nothing wrong with having multiple apps to get more work though!

I cant believe some cabbies actually think an APP booking system is the compromise between working a circuit and working the street, when the street is busy its the busiest time punters will try booking a cab by either phoning a circuit or by booking through an APP, the customer though prefers the better the devil you know option than take a chance and book by APP, What happens When the street work is busy, Circuits and no matter which town or City struggles to cover the work on their system, it takes years to build a base of drivers who are willing to DRAG for work, you know the type, Company men who are loyal to their company, we in Edinburgh are lucky that the TWO main players are Co-operatives not Corporate, so both have that die hard driverbase that covers 100% of the work at times of high demand, loyality works both way's as customers do appreciate the RELIABILTY of there chosen Taxi company.

APP booking will never have that loyality from driver or customer, they are aiming the APP at mainly street cars, trust me i worked the street, street cars when busy enough will not use the APP, it will be switched off, we have this problem in our radio companies with drivers. So when there is demand and the APP booking system is loaded with customers waiting, well its not rocket science, customers only wait so long.

The only way the APP works is when the APP is integrated within an established circuit where there are drivers who are happy to work the system and a customer base who trust through experiance their prefered reliable taxi service.


I would also question why APP booking are not considered booking offices and require no licence, maybe im wrong but i have a hunch im right, maybe APP booking systems are open to bogus drivers/bogus APP booking systems ect so should be expected to hold a booking office licence, i cant believe the NTA have bought in to this.

By encouraging ONE you open the door to hundreds of APP booking systems, opening the door for trouble, shutting the door to a tried and tested way of taxi company providing a taxi service, every pound you give away will lead to in a year that pound becoming£1.20 and then so on, its a pound also lost to not only our trade but our local economy ect.

Customers will alway's come back to the tried and trusted way of booking a cab but my advice is don't encourage or fall for the sales pitch quick buck feckers, they only care about numbers, they are no more than brokers, brokers have no place in our business.

Just my opinion and if you want to give it a go, give it a go, just remember why you work the street and i bet the word drag springs to mind, you will be dragged silly distances by APP booking systems, remember in quiet periods jobs will be few and far between.

London it might pay but here is where it falls apart, we aint all London

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Alway's been about Tightening the Grip!