In a bid to dominate the taxi e-hailing scene, Flywheel is taking its game up a notch with its new platform. The TaxiOS will not only compete with popular apps such as Uber or Lyft, but it will also go toe-to-toe with taxi equipment makers.
Flywheel's TaxiOS has all "antiquated" taxi gears crammed into it, and it stands to replace the meter, dispatch, payment and navigation systems. Typically, taxi meters add up the total fare depending on how many times the wheels on the vehicle revolves, but when TaxiOS rolls out, the fare will be determined via GPS metering, which will compute a more accurate price.
Aside from the features, what's important is how people will hail a cab and pay. To hail a cab, users will be able to get a ride via the app, and taxis with the TaxiOS will also be able to pick up rides on the street or through voice dispatch. Aside from the traditional method, users will be able to pay using their smartphones or credit card, which will be swiped through a credit card reading device similar to Square.
According to Flywheel, the number of taxi drivers in San Francisco that currently operate with the Flywheel app is more than 80 percent. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency ordered that cabs should be equipped with some type of mobile-booking apparatus, which could be the reason why the figure is high.
TaxiOS will first launch in cities where Flywheel is used, which are currently Portland, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, Seattle and San Francisco. Streamlining how cab riders hail and pay, TaxiOS can significantly improve both the taxi driver's business and the passenger's experience. New York will soon be joining the list of cities that operate Flywheel, as it has met the necessary credentials and even carried out more than a million test rides in the market.
The Flywheel app is available at the App Store and Google Play.
