A SMARTPHONE app that has proven to be a hit with Londoners by enabling them to order and pay for taxis in seconds is to launch in Dublin.
Hailo, available for both iPhones and Android phones, has been downloaded nearly 200,000 times from the iTunes App Store since its launch last November.
The app came about when three entrepreneurs collaborated with some London hackney cab drivers to make it easier for customers to hail taxis. It enables smartphone users to order a licensed taxi from wherever they are, gives them an estimated time of arrival for the taxi and allows them to talk directly to the driver if necessary. Passengers can also pay for the taxi via an in-app credit card terminal as well as by cash.
More than 3,200 licensed taxi drivers in London have signed up for the service and it is now being trialled in Dublin with plans to launch in the coming months.
The benefit for drivers is that the app sends them more passengers, offers them up-to-date travel information and stores fare data for them.
“We are very excited that we will soon be able to offer Dubliners the same cutting-edge service that many Londoners currently enjoy; enabling them to hail licensed taxis with just two taps of their iPhone or Android device,” Hailo chief executive Jay Bregman told The Irish Times.
“Our new investment will help us turbocharge the development of the Hailo network in Dublin, which is currently being adapted for the city by three lifelong Dublin taxi drivers. We will expand at pace, with our goal to revolutionise the Dublin taxi market in the coming year.”
Hailo received initial seed money from Atomico, an international venture capital firm founded by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström, which also took an early punt on Spotify. The company last week completed a $17 million Series A financing round led by Accel Partners, which has previously invested in Facebook, Groupon and Rovio.
The latest investment is to be used to fund the firm’s expansion into Ireland and North America.
“Over the past two years Hailo has demonstrated its ambition and execution capability by transforming a concept into the largest network of its kind. Our investment is a reflection of our confidence in the Hailo team and the opportunity ahead of them,” said Adam Valkin, partner at Accel Partners.
