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An Unexpected Ending for London's Top Taxi App

Tom the Taxi Driver

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TAXI APPS

CHECK ME OUT:
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MY SET-UP:
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WHO AM I:
I’m Tom, a London Taxi driver of 7 years. I also have a keen passion for all things London whether that’s; history, geography or a good spot for coffee!

WHY DO I MAKE VIDEOS?:
To PROMOTE and PROTECT The Knowledge of London
And to PRESERVE the high standards of London Taxi Drivers

CHAPTERS
00:00 - Intro
00:35 - Radio Circuits
01:57 - Hailo
03:43 - You Know Who
05:44 - Hailo's Risky Growth Strategy
08:40 - The U-Turn
10:46 - History repeats itself
11:20 - What About Gett?
13:43 - An App by Taxi Drivers?
15:22 - Everyone Has a Price
17:44 - Part 2 - Which App Should I Use?
19:24 - FreeNOW & Gett
23:18 - Taxi App
23:48 - Taxi Now
24:13 - Unify
25:10 - The Future of Apps?

20 Comments

@TomtheTaxiDriver Creator 1 year ago Pinned

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@ThePrancingDevil 1 year ago

Surely the TFL app should be the one to incorporate taxis (of course alongside bus, tube etc under TFL umbrella)

@kevinsmoother 1 year ago

The answer is it should be a TFL app. No commercial interest. Just an app for the benefit of taxi drivers and the customers. Makes sense, but Khan wouldn't be able to get his head around it .

@jaywillow4432 1 year ago

You’re a good soul Tom. You’re a perfect ambassador for the taxi trade and I wish you the best of luck. Keep up the fantastic work

@drchrisbacon 1 year ago

Was in London recently and wanted to hail a taxi. Stood around on the street corner with my luggage feeling like a goose as I had no idea if taxis regularly use this street. Would be great to have an app to signal my location to nearby (but out of sight) drivers. Payment should remain in the taxi.

@boopadin 1 year ago

I always have done my best to use the black cab over any other service and will continue to do so. I refuse to allow companies to undercut a cabbie

@Lolofromno 1 year ago

When I was in London last year, I hailed a black cab to see what it was like. In the middle of my trip, because of the conversation, I totally changed my mind on where I wanted to go. I feel that is an experience that I could not have gotten from a Uber driver. He got me to my new destination efficiently. It was a memorable adventure.

@Markstaxidiaries 1 year ago

Hi Tom! Loads of research for this vid well done! As said taxiapp charge a £4 booking fee now. Just done Chiltern st to T5 ‘Freenow’ £17 commission! Have approached Uber enquiring about their failure to recruit black cabs on the app as yet no response.

@dreselus 1 year ago

The subtitle (h)'idden is chef's kiss.

@BoBandits 1 year ago

As a passenger, transit user and car owner, I agree heavily with your conclusions at the 25:00. Use taxis because they have the right Knowledge, insurance and reliability. I call a dispatcher typically to get downtown and take transit if possible.

@chrisfinch3019 1 year ago

One of your best videos in my opinion, I've been a cabbie 26yrs never used an app.
They all seem corrupt

@Bettyswallox-bf4vi 1 year ago

I’ve been a cabbie 10 years, since I was 18, I’m from Newcastle, I still work the ranks 5/6 days a week, used to also work for an office but when they introduced apps a while ago I stopped working for an office, too complicated, you don’t no if certain drivers are getting fed all the decent work, was so much easier working from a radio system.

@georgef822 1 year ago (edited)

I have no idea why TFL for example hasn't launched an app exactly like Uber for black cabs, where you can book a black cab and see exactly where your taxi is on a map on route to your location.

Then, it's ran by the authority in the interest of the public, not in the interests of investors or commercial interests. It wouldn't cost that much money in the long run and would actually be an investment in London transport and help to preserve another tradition of the few we have left..

That's why Uber is so successful, it's mainly in the map and being able to track the taxi along with paying up front. It takes the jeopardy and uncertainty away for the customer. People aren't actually worried about the time they wait, it's the uncertainty that people don't like.

Not to mention all black cabs are wheelchair accessible and that's a nightmare to find with Ubers and Private Hire.

@kevarosenberg9018 7 days ago

I remember Andrew Pinnington. When I worked at carphone warehouse head office in the early 2000's he was the Chief operations officer for the group. From what I remember he was quite a nice bloke..obviously went on to be very successful

@danjsimonds 2 months ago

For visitors like us, street hailing is an intimidating experience. Something we aren’t accustomed to and will avoid if an alternative is available.
The apps provide certainty and transparency that just you can’t get standing on the curb.
On our last trip, we loved using the traditional black cabs. Mostly we hailed with GETT simply because it was easy.
I would definitely favor a platform that treats the cabbies ethically.
Thanks, Tom, for this excellent channel!!

@dazcruise 1 year ago

In Ireland. Uber is here but they can’t charge what they want because of Irish Law. They have to charge what’s on the meter, they just take commission from the taxi driver

@itsrick7228 1 year ago

As a private hire driver. My councils test includes a knowledge test. Not all private hire drivers are bad. The Hackney drivers round my ways also take the same test as private hire. The only difference being is what box you tick next to Hackney licence or private hire

@keithknight6521 1 year ago

I am a taxi owner driver working in the East Kent (Thanet) since 1985. We used to have pretty strong Taxi trade with a number of taxi ranks especially in Margate and the rail stations, and 2/3 0f the fare was profit. 40 years on, I reached pension age 2 years ago and now only do a 50 miles round school run trips. In 2009 I had to join a Private hire circuit because massive increase in Privater hire numbers and collapse in Taxi hailing, because the council de-zoned from 4 to 1 and put the meter on the highest fares rate, which killed the trade . Until I semi retired my fares was only given me about 1/3 profits, and the hours were burning me out. Now, last October Uber have been given an operator license from Thanet Council. I am planning to continue another 2 years, but so glad I am no longer full time.

@peterbradburn9115 1 year ago

Really interesting run through of the history of these apps. Thank you

@cajogos 1 year ago

Hailo was the first dev company I interviewed for when I was about 20yo, they said no, stating they thought I couldn't work under pressure. I dodged a bullet with that one, been in my current job since!