Michal Marek For a long time now, we have been able to watch a flood of news in the media about how traditional taxi companies are struggling with the influx of new competition in the comfort of modern applications that completely bypass dispatch centers and become a convenient intermediary between the customer and the driver. The Uber phenomenon has spread all over the world, in the Czech Republic there is a local Liftago, and from Slovakia came the startup Hopin Taxi, which also wants to take a bite out of the hearty pie.
As a lover of modern technology and smart handling of resources, I was really interested in these services since they arrived in our main metropolis. Their main advantage is that a person simply turns on the application and calls a taxi from the nearest area with a few touches of the display, which saves time and fuel, which would be required by a taxi called by the dispatch center from the other end of Prague. So I decided to test all three apps and compare how each of them approaches the simple task of getting a customer from point A to point B as quickly, efficiently and cheaply as possible.
Uber
The pioneer and giant in the field of modern urban transport is the American Uber. Although this startup from San Francisco has faced a number of legal difficulties since its inception and was banned in many cities for using unfair competitive practices, it is growing at a rocket pace and its value is constantly increasing. Uber differs from the other two services I tried in Prague in that it does not use classic taxi drivers. Anyone who owns a car from at least 2005 and uses a smartphone with the Uber app as a taximeter can become a driver for Uber.
When I went to try the service, I was immediately impressed with the Uber app. After registering (perhaps via Facebook) and entering a payment card, the application was already fully available to me and ordering a ride was extremely simple. Uber in Prague offers two transport options, which can be switched between with the slider at the bottom of the display. I chose UberPOP, the cheaper one. The second option is Uber Black, which is a more expensive option for transportation in a stylish black limousine.
When I first used the Uber app, I was struck by its simplicity. All I had to do was enter the pick-up location, the destination of the route, and then I called the nearest car with just one tap. He immediately took off after me and I could watch on the map how he was approaching. The display also showed a time indicating how long it would take the driver to reach me. Of course, before I called the car, the app told me how far the nearest car was, and I could also see the price estimate, which actually came true.
However, the application's task was far from over with finding the nearest car. When I got into the summoned Fabia in Vršovice, the driver's smartphone display with the Uber app open immediately started navigation to my destination in Holešovice. So I didn't have to instruct the driver in any way. In addition, the automatically calculated optimal route was also displayed on my phone at the same time, so I had a perfect overview of our journey throughout the drive.
The end of the route was also perfect in Uber's performance. When we arrived at the destination address in Holešovice, the charged amount was automatically deducted from my account thanks to the pre-filled payment card, so I didn't have to worry about anything. Then, as soon as I got out of the car, an email jingled in my pocket with a receipt and a clear summary of my journey with Uber. From there I could still rate the driver with a single tap and that was it.
The price of my ride is certainly an interesting piece of information. The ride from Vršovice to Holešovice, which is less than 7 km long, cost 181 crowns, while Uber always charges 20 crowns as the starting rate and 10 crowns per kilometer + 3 crowns per minute. After all, you can view the details of the trip yourself on the attached electronic receipt.
[app url=https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/uber/id368677368?mt=8]
Liftago
The Czech counterpart of Uber is the successful startup Liftago, which has been operating in Prague since last year. His goal is practically no different from the goals set by his role model, Uber. In short, it is about effectively connecting a driver who currently has no one to drive with the nearest customer who is interested in a ride. The ideal that the project wants to reach is therefore again the minimization of the waste of time and resources. However, Liftago is only for licensed taxi drivers, who will be helped by this application to get orders when they are not sufficiently busy with their own dispatch.
While trying the application, I was once again pleasantly "shocked" by how easy it is to call a taxi with its help. The application works on the same principle as Uber and once again you only need to select the point of departure, the destination and then choose from the nearest cars. At the same time, I could choose according to the estimated price of the route (in other words, the price per kilometer, which for Liftag varies between 14 and 28 crowns), the distance of the car and the rating of the driver. I could follow the called car again on the map and therefore knew where it was approaching me and when it would arrive.
After boarding, the app, just like Uber, gave me a full overview of the route and even the current status of the taximeter. I was then able to pay in cash when checking out, but since you filled in your payment card details during registration, again I could just have the final amount deducted from my account and didn't have to worry about anything.
The receipt came again by e-mail. However, compared to Uber, it was much less detailed and only the boarding point, the exit point and the resulting amount could be read from it. Unlike Uber, Liftago did not give me any information about the price per boarding, the price per kilometer, the time spent driving, etc. In addition, the application does not store any driving history, so as soon as you end the ride and rate the driver, the ride disappears into the abyss of history. You don't have a chance to look back on it anymore, and that's a shame in my opinion.
[app url=https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/liftago-taxi/id633928711?mt=8]
Hopin Taxi
Liftaga's direct competitor is Hopin Taxi. The last of the trio of services I tried came to Prague only in May of this year, while it headed here from Bratislava, where it was founded three years earlier. "On the Czech market, we are starting to operate the service in Prague with two hundred contract drivers. The goal is to cover other important cities, Brno and Ostrava, and to cooperate with up to six hundred drivers by the end of the year," co-founder Martin Winkler commented on the arrival of the service in the Czech Republic and its plans for the future.
Hopin Taxi offers an application that does not seem so simple and straightforward at first glance. However, after the first experience with it, the user will find that its use is still completely problem-free, and the long series of options and settings, after the initial wave of displeasure, will quickly turn into a desired superstructure, thanks to which Hopin trumps its competition in a certain way.
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When I started the application for the first time, a classic map appeared on which my location and the location of taxis in the Hopin services were recorded. Then when I activated the side panel, I found out that before actually calling a taxi, I can set a number of aspects according to which the application will search for a taxi. There is also an accelerated option, which means the possibility to call the nearest car without any settings. But it might be a shame not to use the prepared filters.
The search for a suitable taxi can be narrowed down by specifying aspects such as price, rating, popularity, type of car, driver's language, driver's gender, as well as the possibility of transporting animals, a child or a wheelchair. The competition does not offer something like this, and Hopin clearly gains extra points here. Of course, it's something for something. If we compare Liftago and Hopin, we find that they are competing applications with opposite philosophies. Liftago represents maximum (perhaps even exaggerated) simplicity and elegance, which Hopin simply does not achieve at first glance. Instead, it offers a high-quality choice of services.
The order was made in a completely classic way and within a few seconds I already saw the called car slowly approaching me. The ride was again seamless and at the end of it I could again choose between cash and card payment. To pay by card, however, the user must be registered, while I used the option to use the application without registration and therefore paid in cash. If we look at the price of the ride, Hopin is slightly more favorable than Liftag. It only brings together drivers who charge up to 20 crowns per kilometer.
In conclusion, I was also pleased with Hopin's order history, which I missed with Liftago, and with it the possibility to retrospectively evaluate the drivers with whom you drove.
[app url=https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/hopintaxi/id733348334?mt=8]
Who to drive around Prague with?
In order to determine which of the listed services is the best, a number of aspects would need to be taken into account, and we probably wouldn't get the "correct" answer anyway. Even with the most perfect application, you can call a stupid or inept driver, and vice versa, even with a terrible application, you can "hunt" the most willing, nicest and most capable taxi driver.
Each of the services has something in it, and I have no major comments about any of them. All three drivers took me to my destination willingly and without problems, and I waited for all three at a similar time of day for essentially the same amount of time (from 8 to 10 minutes).
So everyone has to find their favorite service by themselves, according to several basic criteria. Do you prefer a global technological phenomenon, or will you rather support a local startup? Would you rather ride with a civilian Uber driver or a professional taxi driver? Would you rather choose directness and elegance, or the possibility of selection and retrospection? Anyway, the good news is that we have three quality services in Prague, so you don't have to be afraid to choose from them. All three services aim for the same thing in slightly different ways. They want to effectively connect the driver with the customer and provide the passenger with an overview of the route and thereby protection against the unfair practices of some traditional Prague taxi drivers.
Useful comparison, thanks.
They definitely look better than Hail Taxi here in Ireland by checking the route and prices.
I quite miss the point of the article, where the author does not even bother to make a price comparison of the service. That's the first thing I'm interested in!
If you read the article, maybe you will find the meaning and even the price comparison in it.
So, of course, the comparison will never be completely accurate, but even so, with a little effort, the following can be summarized:
* Uber – starting rate CZK 20, km for CZK 10, waiting CZK 3
* Liftago – starting rate CZK ??, km for CZK 14+, waiting CZK ??
* HopIN – boarding rate CZK ??, km for CZK 20, waiting CZK ??
When comparing, I would expect you to find those values where there are question marks. If it varies within the service, I will give the tracked range. And if that's not possible, why not at least drive the same route to compare the price?