A new taxi app has launched in Nottingham giving passengers access to licensed hackney carriage cabs at the touch of a button.
The MyTaxi app has come to the city to in partnership with Nottingham City Council.
The service brings a new technological approach to the existing hackney carriage fleet in the city.
UK General Manager of MyTaxi, Andy Batty said: “The app is entirely integrated with the payment system. We turn up in a matter of minutes, you take your journey and then at the end your credit card is automatically billed.
“Hackney cabs have existed in Nottingham for over 40 years, what MyTaxi does is bring technology into the hackney carriage industry.
“The upside for a passenger is that they can do it from the convenience of their own home and there’s also a real safety aspect, all of the journeys are tracked so you can share your journey with friends and family.
“If you’re coming home on a night out you can make sure any of your loved ones are aware of where you are.”
Uber’s arrival in the city in 2015 drew criticism from some rival taxi companies and hackney cab drivers who claimed they faced unfair competition from the company.
MyTaxi is also ride-hailing app allowing customers to pay automatically on completion of their journey after registering their payment card.
The introduction of MyTaxi fits in with Nottingham City Council’s plan for a clean air zone by 2020.
It hopes to replace the city’s 400 hackney carriages with electric taxis or the latest diesel technology to bring down vehicle emissions.
Councillor Toby Neale said: ” Our public transport commitment over the years has been to offer an efficient and effective local transport service. That means making our transport greener.
“We have the bus company with its bio fuel and electric buses and the tram which is an electric service. This is the obvious next step.”
The app is running a 50 per cent off promotion throughout March to any of its customers.
