Brussels, 12/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - By setting up a global network, European taxis are forming battle order against the smartphone app UberPop, which allows customers to call on drivers using their own cars to transport passengers.
A global network for taxi apps was launched by the International Road Transport Union (IRU) on Saturday 8 November, at the International Taxi Forum in Cologne. The IRU calls on taxi industry federations and leading taxi app providers to come together to promote safe, high quality taxi services to customers by making use of the latest smartphone technology. The aim is to ensure the creation of a truly global roaming network under the same quality label for a safe, legally regulated and secure taxi industry, unlike what has brought complaints against Uber, which began in California (see EUROPE 11147).
By clicking on their local taxi app, customers will soon be able to access the taxi services in more than 100 cities worldwide, says the IRU. Currently, this network provides access, via the German Taxi.eu, Austrian Taxi40100 and Belgian eCab apps, to taxi services in about a dozen European countries as well as in the United States and India. This global taxi network is “is the professional taxi industry's response to customers' needs as well as current and future mobility challenges”, said IRU Head of Passenger Transport Oleg Kamberski. (MD)