A taxi app

The Herald reports:

A new app aims to help Kiwis find the closest, cheapest taxi and rates individual drivers, but industry watchdogs say they are wary of the tool.

Cab Chooze began in Auckland yesterday and developers say it will find consumers the best deal and generate extra business for drivers.

The idea was developed by Youchooze IT, a family business run by West Aucklanders BK Sharma, his son Arjun and wife Payal.

Project manager Mr Sharma said the idea came in 2011 when Arjun was unable to hail a taxi late at night.

“It took him hours to get a cab and the price was so high that he was really quite shocked, which made him come up with the idea of ‘why can’t cabs be available to the consumer conveniently?’

“Cab Chooze means the consumer has the choice to pick their cab based on its rating, how quickly it can come to them and on the fare.”

That’s a great idea. It’s appalling that you can’t even go to one website for a city and see a list of all the taxi firms and their fare schedules.

But I’ve long advocated a GPS app for taxis, where you can signal your location, and they respond. What I think would be key is that you the customer also can see the GPS location of your taxi, once confirmed. That means if you are in a bar or restaurant, you know once the taxi has arrived.