In the unending battle between Uber and traditional taxi cabs, there’s a new weapon at play. Its name is Karhoo, and it’s a new app that just launched in the streets of London on behalf of cabs and cabbies. While it’s similar to Uber in its use of mobile technology to call a car, you won’t be calling an unlicensed cab driver when you use Karhoo. Rather, the app will “give you all the information so you can choose the right car, at the right time, for the right price.
“Be it taxis, community car services, black cars, executives, or luxury vehicles, whatever car you need, Karhoo has it.”
The app is free and available on both Android and iOS, and was designed to make the cab-hailing process as painless as possible. Simply enter your destination, and a map will show you nearby car options, complete with the price breakdown, an ETA, and its operator. You can then filter by price, the nearest car, type of car, or preferred company. And best of all, Karhoo says that there’s no surge pricing, so what you see is what you get.
“What we have done at Karhoo has never been done before,” said John Daily, development manger at Karhoo. “It has been a hugely complex challenge to integrate so many different dispatch systems with such varying degrees of sophistication. By connecting directly with established operators and their fleets, Karhoo can bring hundreds, if not thousands, of cabs online in an instant, giving passengers more choice at the touch of a button. It really is a feat of technological innovation.”
Taxi drivers are also thrilled by Karhoo’s plans, viewing the new app as a potential shield against Uber’s relentless encroachment.
“Without doubt, Karhoo is a lifesaver for the classic, licensed minicab driver,” Nicholas Monteith, owner of Mornington Cars, told the Daily Mail. “It will help protect the minicab industry and allow us to fight back, bringing us jobs that we would otherwise not have been able to access, giving us the chance of more work while giving consumers more choice. It allows us to properly compete.”
While Karhoo is currently only active in London, it hopes to make its way across the pond to New York in the near future.
