Gone are the days of trawling the streets looking for a mini-cab or standing on a corner hoping one will cross your path. Today a cab is only a click away thanks to various apps. We recently caught up with Bounce – the latest platform that puts you in contact with a driver directly—cutting out the middleman and therefore passing on savings to you. This GPS powered app has some great safety features too…
The Bounce crew give us the lowdown:
What was the inspiration behind Bounce?
We came up with Bounce because we wanted to connect passengers directly to TfL-licensed, safe, reliable minicabs at a low cost. Our idea was that with mobile technology we can connect passengers and drivers directly, removing the need for the traditional minicab company and passing the cost savings to the customers.
How does the service work?
Bounce is an iPhone and Android app. You open the app and it finds you via GPS, instantly giving you a response time. You then tell the app where you are going and a fixed cost is given to you. You click to book, and Bounce automatically connects you to the nearest available driver—and off you go. It’s a very simple, easy to use service. Bounce works with drivers who own or rent their own cars; our standards of vehicle are higher than your average minicab service.
What areas do you cover?
We currently cover central London, southwest and west London, although we do have drivers spread out over other areas, so you will sometimes find Bounce cars available outside these areas. We will be quickly expanding coverage to the whole of greater London.
Who is your main competition?
Black cabs/Hailo, standard minicab companies, other apps and even public transport—our service is great value so if you are travelling in a small group it can be cheaper to take a Bounce than to take the bus!
Are there any other features you’d like to tell us about?
We have a great safety feature unique to Bounce called “on my way”. You click a button from within the app and it sends details of your driver and car to, for example, your husband, girlfriend, mum or dad. This feature is perfect for young people to let their parents know they are safe.
What’s next for Bounce?
We will be growing our number of drivers significantly, plus we will be introducing a host of new features to the app to make it better and better.
For more info, visit: bouncecars.com
