Much of the news pertaining to alternative modes of transportation in Greater Boston as of late has been centered around Uber and Bridj. Uber’s rider safety was brought into question when it came to light that it’s UberDriver app was leaked and made publicly available. On the other end of the spectrum, Bridj added a seasoned transit vet to its executive roster and $4 million to its bank account. But let’s not forget about Hailo, the car-share app that allows users to summon a taxi cab or licensed driver, which on Thursday, September 11, announced a new mobile payment feature.
The service is called Pay with Hailo, and allows users who hail a taxi on the street to pay for their ride using the Hailo app.
Pay with Hailo works by by putting to use Apple’s iBeacon transmitter system. When a Hailo user enters the cab, the iBeacon system allows the app to automatically recognize the specific taxi and subsequently invites the user to pay for their ride with a one-click confirmation alert.
If iBeacon is not available for the user to engage with, they’re instead able to scroll through a list to locate their driver and pay.
“Hailo’s vision has always been to make daily life a little more hassle free, and the launch of Pay with Hailo is a big step in that direction,” said Tom Barr, CEO of Hailo, in a statement. “We are proud to be the world’s first on-demand transportation service to offer the convenience of both e-hail and seamless in-taxi payment in a single app.”
Hailo notes further that for an initial promotional period, no charges will be levied against the user using Pay with Hailo. And if you haven’t yet downloaded the app, Hailo will offer you a discount for your first Pay with Hailo transaction.
Launching this service is surely a means of competing with the likes of Uber, though at this point Hailo is only launching it in Boston and in the entire country of Ireland. Still, they’re offering a number of initiatives that are aimed to grow its user base and shrink the rideshare market dominated by rival Uber.
Expansion of the service to other major cities will take place within the coming weeks.
In Washington D.C., for example, Hailo announced a 50-percent fare cut to try and turn the tables on Uber’s lower-cost service UberX. According to the Washington Post, “customers who”hail” their cab using an app may pay less than if they did by waving their hand in the air.”
But the Post also brings up a perpetual debate surrounding rideshares: safety.
Plenty of Uber horror stories have circulated around the Internet and that’s unlikely to diminish any time soon. Continued the Post, “Kevin Hatfield, co-president of Hailo North America said the Hailo app is aimed at customers who may prefer a taxi to other alternatives such as UberX and Lyft because of security and insurance concerns.”
Plan on using Hailo’s service? Think it’s still facing an uphill battle against Uber? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
