iCabbi set to revolutionise taxi booking


16 Nov 2010

A company launching in Dublin and Cork today, iCabbi.com, promises to “change the way we book taxis forever” using real-time, one-touch booking from mobile phones and the internet.

Describing itself as a virtual taxi dispatch company, iCabbi allows people to get the closest taxi to them at the touch of a mobile phone button and to track its progress in real time – no need to speak to anyone, no need to call directory enquiries for cab company numbers, for multiple calls on busy nights or to check when your car will arrive.

Gavan Walsh, founder and managing director of iCabbi, was lost in Portugal in 2009 with his pregnant girlfriend and his iPhone. With no Portuguese he had little prospect of asking anyone for assistance – even if he could have found somebody to ask.

“If only there was an app that would allow me to book a taxi without the need to speak to anyone, an app that could find a taxi and give it my location,” he thought and the idea for iCabbi was born.

When you book an iCabbi, the details of the car and driver coming to get you are sent directly to your mobile phone. Your journey is then recorded and emailed to two email addresses of your choosing.

The new system means people with hearing and speech difficulties can now book taxis wherever they are whenever they want without the need to seek assistance.

Export potential and job creation

iCabbi will create up to 10 new positions in Ireland in year one alone and Walsh expects it to have huge export potential.

Initially launching in Dublin and Cork and rolling out to the rest of the country soon after, iCabbi has already formed strategic relationships with Nokia, Vodafone, Carphone Warehouse and Georgina Campbell’s Ireland that will see iCabbi being promoted directly to their customers, on their phones, in their shops and on their websites.

Article courtesy of Bizstartup.ie.