Chicago picks 2 companies to provide universal taxi app
City Hall chose Arro and Verifone to provide the universal taxi app that will make it easier for Chicago residents and visitors to hail a cab after a competitive bidding process that dragged on for months.
Chicago cabdrivers got a high-tech boost Wednesday in their fight for survival in the ride-hailing era.
One year after campaigning for re-election on a promise to deliver a citywide taxi app like the one pioneered by Uber, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is finally getting around to delivering the system that could put cabs on equal footing with the ride-hailing giant whose investors include the mayor’s brother.
City Hall chose Arro and Verifone to provide the universal taxi app that will make it easier for Chicago residents and visitors to hail a cab after a competitive bid- ding process that dragged on for months.
The two companies won the heated competition after offering “key features” that are standard fare for Uber and Lyft. They include “a secure payment option, estimated wait time and a fare quote estimate,” officials said.
Beginning Feb. 1, Chicago’s estimated 12,700 licensed cabdrivers will be required to use either Arro or Verifone apps. The Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, which oversees the taxicab industry, will host “registration fairs” later this week to give cabdrivers and medallion owners an opportunity to “learn more and sign up” with the two vendors.
Financial terms of the Arro and Verifone contracts were not revealed.
In a press release, Emanuel touted Chicago as the first city in the nation to with a universal taxi app. The mayor called it fitting for a “city that innovates.”