‘We’ll get paid peanuts’ - taxi app Getts mixed reaction from Cambridge cabbiesA taxi company boss in Cambridge has welcomed a move by cab app company Gett to expand into the city but some drivers fear it will hit them hard in the pocket.
Gett works exclusively with Licensed Hackney Carriages and black cabs across the UK and has this week today announced its expansion to Cambridge.
Rowhi Nemar, owner of Camcab, said: "We as a company already have an app that our customers can use to order one of our taxis. I think this is fine as long at the company is using local taxi drivers. It is a useful took for customers and it gives them more choice."
Following success in London, as well as an increased demand for services in outlying areas, Gett has pinpointed Cambridge as a key location in the company's rapid growth and recruitment drive across Britain with more cities set to follow.
With 1,000 new drivers joining Gett each month, the team will be embarking on a huge recruitment drive across Cambridge this week to find licensed black cab drivers looking to join the 7,000 Gett drivers currently working for the growing company across the UK.
But some taxi drivers fear the move by Gett will hit them in their pockets.
Writing on the Facebook page of Cambridge Hackney Carriage Association, one driver said: "Well it makes sense, they won't attract new drivers if the licensing is the same. The only way they can succeed is by converting existing drivers. Why would they work for Gett or Uber when there rates are cheaper, and all the payments are credit not cash.
"If a few drivers convert that's when it all goes pear-shaped as they will get work as the public will want cheaper rates and of course the £10 free ride. Then we will have more defectors and so the downward spiral will continue until we are all working for peanuts and lining corporate pockets."
Gett, which hit the headlines with its rapid expansion and customer giveaways in cities across the globe, will be offering residents of Cambridge a free journey by giving them £10 free credit for their first ride.
Remo Gerber, Gett CEO, said: "We've been in London for four years and it's been fantastic to see how we have connected passengers to drivers. After the successful launch across six UK cities including Manchester and Edinburgh where we have had an amazing response both from consumers and drivers, we have now decided to expand even further across the country."
The same app will soon allow them to 'Gett' other things – such as beauty and home services.
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http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/8216-82 ... z3aEvdAXme
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