As protests against Uber and City challenges rage on in Toronto, the taxi industry has been grappling with the question of how to deal with the disruption of its industry and bring its technology to the 21st century.
eCab, a global alliance of taxi companies committed to bringing innovative digital technology to the industry, has teamed up with Royal Taxi in Toronto to develop a smartphone app for the company. The eCab app in Toronto follows the app’s successful presence in Vancouver of last year. According to Royal Taxi, the availability of an app helps the company cater to a younger demographic that expects efficiency in their daily life, as well as leverage the fact that they are a safer option.
“Traditional taxi companies have typically relied on calls coming in to their Dispatch centre. An APP changes that and adds a greater dimension to the transportation industry—not to mention increases demand by a diverse demographic group,” said Spiros Bastas, general manager for Royal Taxi. “The glaring difference between our App and that provided by services such as Uber is safety, reliability and compliance.”
The Toronto app works by allowing users to get connected to the nearest Royal Taxi in the area, choose from regular, executive, and wheelchair accessible cars, and—most importantly—pay through the app. Users also have the option of enjoying WiFi in the vehicle.
“Urban mobility is facing a major evolution and the smartphone generation keeps evolving. The digital revolution and the unprecedented new competition entering all sectors of activity has to be addressed positively,” said Gilles Gomis, regional head of eCab. “eCab brings to the industry the tools to fill these needs while focusing on technology and quality of services.”