xooox – a ground-breaking new ride-hailing app – launches today across the entire UK
Passengers can use the app to hail both minicabs & taxicabs; drivers get complete control over how they work & what they charge
xooox, a ground-breaking new ride-hailing app, launches today across the entire UK. Invented by UK start-up, Perfect Data, xooox [pronounced ‘zooks’] provides more choice and wider geographical coverage than any other cab app, making it a one-stop shop for passengers right across the nation. Unlike other ride-hailing apps, xooox also gives cab drivers the freedom to find their own fares and set their own prices, placing them back in control of their own livelihoods.
Maximum choice for passengers
With xooox, passengers can search for all available minicabs and taxicabs in their area at that particular moment in time, choosing between rides based on a broad range of criteria, including the cost of the fare, type of cab, its emissions, ETA, boot space, number of seats and whether its wheelchair accessible. And because xooox works anywhere in the country – including rural communities and the many towns and cities where other apps aren’t licensed or aren’t economically viable – everyone can now use the very latest in search technology to hail a cab.
The xooox passenger app is available on both the AppStore and the Google Play Store.
Drivers back in control
xooox provides more choice and control for drivers, including the ability to set their own fares. Any of the UK’s 400,000 licensed drivers – both independent cabbies and drivers working for minicab operators – can download and use the new xooox driver app from the App Store and Google Play Store for free, with no commission charges.
Unlike existing apps, which tell drivers which passengers to pick up and how much to charge, xooox gives drivers a live map of all local passengers actively searching for a cab, so they can choose their own work. Drivers set their own prices, decide which jobs they accept and define how far they will travel for a pick-up. They can even flex their offer in real-time to take control over how much work they get.
Darren Tenney, the ex-cab driver who founded Perfect Data, the company behind xooox, said, “xooox places drivers firmly back in control of their livelihoods. For too long, drivers have had two options – find their own fares without the help of technology, or be enslaved to an algorithm that dictates when they work and for how much. xooox changes this forever; from now on, drivers are in charge of the tech, not the other way around.”
xooox also works in conjunction – rather than competition – with existing operators and minicab firms. Any operator that wants to supplement its existing advanced bookings with real-time journey requests – or that wants to grow its pool of drivers – can also sign up to use the xooox service for free. Each operator will get access to a live map pinpointing the location of their own drivers, as well as nearby passengers.
Tenney continued, “xooox is not another tech-based cab company trying to muscle in on an existing trade, instead it’s a software tool that will empower operators and drivers to win more business off their own backs.”
Fully regulated with safety measures built in
xooox has been designed with a number of safety measures built in. Only fully licensed taxi and private hire drivers can use the app to search for fares, while passengers can automatically report a driver to their licensing body all via one touch of an icon.
All of the UK’s 350+ cab regulators – often local authorities – will get free-of-charge access to the xooox technology platform, enabling them to see a live map of all vehicles operating in their areas. For the first time, regulators can automatically check whether the drivers on the streets have the correct licenses to operate in their jurisdictions.
“Regulators have been flying blind for way too long. They have plenty of rules about which drivers, vehicles and operators can work on their patch, but they have had no way of enforcing them,” continued Tenney. “We’re the first ride-hailing service to open up its technology platform to the regulators, letting them see what’s actually happening at street-level. At last they will have the power to take action against unlicensed, banned or out of jurisdiction drivers. This will not only help keep passengers safe, it will help protect the income of the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding cabbies working in the UK today.”
Environmental benefits
xooox can also help reduce pollution and congestion in the UK’s towns and cities. The app’s search technology means taxicab drivers no longer need to cruise around in order to search for passengers – journeys known as ‘the dead mile’ – they can let the tech do the work instead. This reduces the amount of traffic on the road as well as harmful emissions. The app also eliminates the need for minicabs to return back to base empty once they have dropped off a passenger, as these drivers can now search for fares for their return journeys too.
Regulatory authorities can also use the data from the xooox platform to inform their smart cities and environmental initiatives, including the introduction and enforcement of low emissions zones.
The technology behind xooox
The xooox service leverages patent-pending entity search engine technology, to connect drivers with passengers in real-time, allowing them to strike their own deals, without any interference from algorithms. In addition to the driver and passenger apps, the xooox platform also comprises two free-of-charge management portals, one for operators and another for cab regulators.