Taxi Apps You Should Be Using

Booking a cab has never been easier. Long gone are the days where it was from necessity that individuals had to stand on the roadside to hail a cab. Now, people can order one from the comfort of their living room with a click of a button on their smartphone.

Our top 6 taxi apps ​to download onto your phone now

1. Cabwise

Cabwise is an app launched by TfL as part of a wider initiative to increase passenger safety and reduce the number of people using illegal minicabs. It allows you to book your nearest black cab or mini cab, ensuring that the vehicle you’re travelling in is licensed and insured, and the driver is licensed and insured.  To use the app, you just enter your post code and then the app will list all the licensed cabs in your vicinity. The only downside is that the booking is not done in-app, you still have to ring the number provided but at least you’ll enjoy the journey knowing that you’re in safe hands.

Due to the service being run by Transport for London, it is not available for use outside of the London area.

2. Maaxi

Maaxi is specifically a black cab app that allows users to share a taxi. The basics of it are, instead of hailing an entire cab, individuals would book a seat and then the fare is divided up between the passengers in the cab according to the distance and time each one has spent in the cab. The app helps black cabs be more competitive with mini cab prices as users will only pay a percentage of what they would have done if they travelled alone.  

3. Hailo

Hailo was launched in 2011 and available in over 20 cities including London. By using Hailo on a smartphone, you’re able to book a licensed cab in-app without having to make a separate phone call. The app provides details about your driver and receipts are sent to your email address. Hailo was originally intended to be an app for booking black cabs, however they have since extended their service to include private hire services. This was much to the anger of black cab drivers, some of whom went on to vandalise the Hailo offices.

It’s also worth noting that Hailo isn’t as widely available for use as some other taxi booking apps. For example Hailo is only available in around 20 cities, which pales in comparison to Uber whose service is available in over 200.

4. Uber

Uber is probably the most controversial taxi booking app, and its name is constantly splashed across the front of newspapers. It’s one of the most popular and widely available taxi booking apps too, available in over 200 cities in 50 countries and markets itself in London as being the cheaper alternative to a London black cab. Similarly to Hailo, Uber allows users to view details of their driver, and at the end of the journey allows passengers to rate the driver and vice-versa. These ratings are then displayed to future potential users and drivers who have an overall rating of below 4.6/5 face suspension. The same rating system applies to passengers, and users with a low rating can be suspended from the system. Uber allows users the option to choose and compare rates for different vehicles, the cheapest being the uberX which has a base fare of £2.50, ranging up to the uberLUX where the base fare is £5. Uber predict they will have 42,000 drivers working in London by 2016, which is more than double the amount of black cab drivers in the city.

5. Kabbee

Kabbee is a free app for iPhone and Android that allows you to compare prices of minicabs so that you can find the best deal and then book them all via the app.  It boasts the largest fleet in London and the best customer service in the industry. Kabbee promise users a punctual driver and a pleasant journey, as all companies listed have to be put through a 30 point accreditation scheme and users have the opportunity to rate the company which is then displayed next to the company name.

6. Addison Lee

Addison Lee operates Europe’s largest minicab fleet and their app allows you to book a minicab via your smartphone. It will let you know up front how much the journey will cost, and how long it will take for your cab to arrive (Addison Lee state that the average wait is under ten minutes if you’re located in central London). One of the benefits of using Addison Lee, and what sets it apart from most other taxi booking apps, is that it rewards loyal customers. If you’re a regular user of the app, you could be entitled to certain discounts and perks, as well as booking priority.

We hope that as a user, this helped clarify the difference between all the apps and helped you with your decision on which ones to download. Tradex has been providing taxi insurance for both black cab drivers and private hire for over 20 years and it’s interesting to note how the advancement in technology has affected the industry.