Now you can track Pokemon 24/7 with a new taxi service

Players can enjoy driving tours to ‘catch ‘em all’

AVID Pokémon GO players in west London are being given a unique opportunity to get ahead of fellow collectors thanks to an Uxbridge-based taxi company.

Minicab company 247 Cars, which covers west London and beyond, launched its Pokémon tours for players of the app on Wednesday after similar ideas started to pop up around the world.

Pokémon GO was released in the UK in July and has proved to be a hugely popular hit with both children and adults.

Operations manager at 247, Gary Cox, said: “[Pokémon GO] is just so popular. It’s taken off and it’s been unbelievable really.

“We noticed worldwide there were loads of companies offering Pokémon tours. It’s something new, something nobody has tried. Will it be successful? Only time will tell.”

Mr Cox added that tours were already being offered in Mexico, Thailand, the USA and the north of England but that it was unique in London.

No one has yet taken a tour since they were launched this week but Mr Cox said people have already been calling in to find out more.

The tours are offered at a rate of £20 for one hour’s exploring, and the company is hoping the drivers will learn the hotspots for finding rare and powerful Pokémon.

The smartphone app uses GPS to track players’ movement as they explore the real world and Pokémon appear on screen using augmented reality and the phone’s camera to make Pokémon appear on-screen.

Mr Cox added: “It’s safer to be in a licensed cab with a licensed driver than have people wandering around by themselves.”

A nine-year-old boy was recently robbed by a man who threatened to kill him while playing the game in Acton.

The 200 drivers working for 247 are poised and ready to take their first fares hoping to ‘catch em all’.