App could be the TripAdvisor of driving instructors
A BIRMINGHAM entrepreneur is hoping to change the way learner drivers find instructors with his new app.
Banwo Idowu, from Edgbaston, has created Youmi which he hopes will smooth the process of connecting learners with suitable teachers.
Mr Idowu said his own research had discovered that two in every five UK learner drivers try lessons with a minimum of two instructors before finding one they feel they are compatible with.
He claims his new app could save UK learners up to £33 million a year in wasted fees with instructors who they eventually change because they are not suited.
Youmi, initially being launched this week in the West Midlands, has been built to give learners the ability to access and compare hundreds of local driving instructors and select them based on ratings left by other learners – a feature the firm claims has never been available before.
The new service is free for learners and includes a refer-a-friend scheme while instructors pay £9.99 per month to be featured but they keep everything they earn, with no commission.
Mr Idowu said: “Just like thou- sands of other 17 year olds, I was raring to get behind the wheel of the car from the day I turned 17 but the excitement was quickly replaced by frustration. I went through lots of incompatible driving instructors and I felt like I was going nowhere fast.
“It was during this time that I came up with the idea of Youmi - somewhere learner drivers can read reviews and easily compare local instructors in one place – but mainly a place where they have the ability to decide who teaches them to drive.”
Mike Spooner, head of approved driving instructor engagement at Youmi, added: “The biggest problem that driving instructors face – even the best ones – is generating awareness among prospective learner drivers.
“Most good instructors rely on word of mouth but it’s not a guaranteed source of new learners all year round so we are always looking for ways to raise awareness.
“By introducing a star-rating to the industry for the first time, Youmi will enable the best driving instructors to benefit from increased awareness and should encourage more instructors to deliver a better experience every time as they are only as good as their last review.”