Cape Town - A Cape Town start-up company has come up with a free app which can be used to hail a metered taxi without having to make a telephone call.
The app – Zapacab – was launched three weeks ago. On Tuesday, Matt Aberdein, zapacab’s product manager, demonstrated how it worked.
Using a computer or any smartphone, log onto www.zapacab.com where you punch in your cellphone number, your address and the “zap me a cab” button.
“The app detects where you are and it will remember your number. Then you will see an indication of how many cabs (metered taxis) are close by.” During the demonstration, for example, the app showed that there were two taxis within a 5km radius. A map on the site also allows users to see where the taxi is. “The app pings every five seconds, so you always know where the driver fetching you is.”
Aberdein said the app worked with about 70 taxi drivers in the Cape Town CBD and that companies like Rikkis and Sport taxis had also signed up.
The drivers are given cellphones with the app installed on them. The closest driver to answer the call is then the one to pick up the customer.
Aberdein explained that independent metered taxi drivers – those not linked to a specific company – were the most responsive because they could respond quicker. More established metered taxi services often had to be dispatched through a call centre, forcing the customer to wait for the next available taxi. “People waste so much airtime calling cabs and with this app, you just need to have internet on your phone.” Since its launch, the service has attracted about 400 users, including some repeat users.
Aberdein said the app was still growing and would be expanded in time to include things such as driver ratings, where people could give feedback on their experiences.
The company was also looking at rolling out the app to cover other areas in the province, such as Stellenbosch, other provinces and elsewhere on the continent, such as Nairobi in Kenya.
Or take public transport
Internationally, an app called Uber (www.uber.com) offers the same service in the US and Europe. Joburg is the only South African city covered.
Other public transport apps include one developed by a Joburg developer called A Way To Be (www.awayto.be).
It offers ways to get from point A to B using public transport in Cape Town, Joburg and Pretoria, and includes information on MyCiTi, Gautrain and Rea Vaya. - Cape Argus