Taxis take aim at Uber with updated apps
Beck quietly releases new version of its smartphone application, says it’s a ‘refresh’
With Uber making deeper inroads into the taxi business, Toronto cab companies are fighting back with apps of their own, which offer many of Uber’s features including credit-card payments and GPS tracking.
Beck Taxi quietly released a new update to its app on Wednesday, touting that passengers can now track how far away the cab is, rate their experience and even pay with PayPal.
“It’s a faster experience. At the core, we are a taxi company,” said Beck Taxi operations manager Kristine Hubbard, adding it has always had GPS capability and is now making it available to its customers.
Hubbard disputed any suggestion that taxi companies are merely responding to Uber, the California-based company that is shaking up the cab industry around the world with its ride-hailing smartphone app.
“It’s a refresh. We’ve had an app since 2012,” Hubbard said, noting it has had more than 110,000 downloads.
“It’s a faster experience. At the core, we are a taxi company.” KRISTINE HUBBARD BECK TAXI OPERATIONS MANAGER
She conceded that Beck’s app will now allow in-app payment through credit cards and PayPal, though customers can also opt to pay the driver in person with debit or credit cards or use cash.
Uber began operating in Toronto in 2012, using licensed taxi drivers, but steadfastly refused to be licensed as a taxi brokerage, arguing it is a technology firm that merely links riders with drivers.
Last year, Uber expanded with the UberX service, where ordinary drivers can use their personal vehicles to ferry passengers around. Fares are about 20 per cent less than taxis.
Shortly after that service began, the City of Toronto announced it was seeking a permanent injunction to block all of Uber’s operations. The court case is now scheduled to be heard starting June 1.
But Mayor John Tory has called on all the parties from taxi companies to Uber to sit down together to find a way to coexist, arguing that taxi industry needs to adapt to technology.
“I won’t have the Wild West — I’ve said that many times before — but I won’t have us stuck in the 1970s either,” Tory said during a speech to the Toronto Region Board of Trade earlier this month.
The day after Tory pleaded for co-operation, Uber applied for a taxi brokerage licence, calling it a gesture of good faith. However, it still refuses to get a licence for its limousine business and no licensing system exists for its UberX division.
Royal Taxi will also be rolling out a new app called eCab, which is used around the world, allowing users to see how close the taxi is and get a message when the taxi has arrived.
“We have about 50 clients testing it out,” said Royal Taxi general manager Spiros Bastas, adding all drivers have been outfitted with the app.
“You will be able to order a cab, select a vehicle and type of vehicle, including accessible vehicles.”
Bastas disputed that Royal’s app was copying Uber’s features, arguing that the taxi industry has been constantly modernizing, from automatic dispatching to computers in cars.
“The Royal app was out before Uber came to town,” Bastas said. “I am not against technology, but on a snowy day, with a mobile app, all you get is no cars available.
“You still have the option to call me personally or other supervisors and say ‘I need to get a cab to leave the hospital.’ We can help,” he said.
Co-Op Taxi and Crown Taxi have signed an exclusive deal with Toronto-based Gata Labs for its app.
“All the drivers have tablets with our software installed,” said Gata Labs business analyst Travis Bashir. “When a customer orders a car, it’s pinned to the nearest driver.”
Like other apps, customers will get the driver’s name and phone number so people can call directly.
But Bashir sees its app as much more than just dispatching taxis, having just launched with Parker’s Cleaners for drycleaning delivery in Toronto. The app is now in operation in 100 locations across Canada and the United States.
“Uber is a great service to order cars. We are designed more towards local businesses,” Bashir said.
“That’s our appeal — letting them brand themselves within our app.” Uber Canada spokeswoman Susie Heath praised innovation in the transportation space.
“As more transportation alternatives become available, consumers come first as our platform revolutionizes the way people connect with their cities and creates economic opportunity for transportation providers around the world,” Heath said in an email.