- Innovative taxi app available from 2015 on the Bosphorus
- switchboard technology used by more than 62,000 taxis
- Application in nine European countries in around 130 taxi offices
Berlin/Vienna/Istanbul, 7 November 2014. The app taxi.eu makes the leap from the Spree and the Danube to the Bosphorus: From the spring of next year, the innovative smartphone app will be available in Istanbul, the metropolis of 15 million inhabitants. To conform to the specific features of the Turkish taxi market, the app operators have founded a joint venture with local partners. Istanbul is considered to be a lucrative market for app providers, as electronic switchboard systems with uniform services modernise the city’s evolved market.
taxi.eu has its roots in Berlin and is today a German-Austrian company under the umbrella of fms Systems GmbH. The partners of taxi.eu for the joint venture in Istanbul are three regional companies from the local taxi market. Their shared goal is to modernise the everyday taxi business in the city of millions on the Bosphorus using electronic switching via smartphone, and to create customer-friendly uniform standards for passengers and economical standards for taxi drivers. The contracts were signed today by taxi.eu founders Hermann Waldner and Michael Weiss, as well as the spokesperson for the Turkish partners, Ozan Yalcinkaya, during the Taxi Trade Fair in Cologne.
There are only 18,300 taxis in Istanbul, and every licence is personal. Contrary to German practice, taxis are hardly ever called to a pick-up address; they are usually hailed at the side of the road or from one of the official stops, which are also seen as taxi offices. While there are a few telephone services in the districts, the metropolis lacks a uniform switchboard structure. Tourist information services therefore even previously advised visitors of the way to the next stop. The joint venture wants to modernise this structure.
“The size of the city alone requires a service which directly finds vehicles in the vicinity. This is what taxi.eu does. With our app, we can therefore consistently minimise all taxi drivers’ tedious searching, help to save fuel and time and establish an excellent service for customers. Instead of trusting to chance, the taxi comes directly and as quickly as possible to the customer via an app request. Our service thus helps passengers and drivers”, explains Hermann Waldner.
“Electronic switchboard systems are the future of taxis in Istanbul: they reduce fuel costs, minimise empty runs and relieve traffic. In the process, taxi.eu offers every passenger fare security and transparency, and is also available in multiple languages – this is a clear advantage for our foreign guests, as not every taxi driver knows several foreign languages”, explains Ozan Yalcinkaya.
So that it can launch in Istanbul as early as the coming spring, the developers of taxi.eu have developed their own driver app. It is currently in testing. The drivers can use it to independently manage their availability.
For taxi.eu, the commitment in Istanbul is a continuation of the previous strategy, which aims to offer a uniform, customer-friendly taxi service via smartphone, right across Europe and neighbouring countries. taxi.eu was originally designed as an app for taxi offices, and the application services are integrated seamlessly into the existing mediator systems. The smartphone application taxi.eu works together with over 130 taxi offices in more than 100 cities. There are currently 62,000 taxies with around 160,000 taxi drivers in nine European countries driving for taxi.eu. The app works according to local legislation in all countries.
taxi.eu
taxi.eu is operated by fms Systems GmbH, based in Berlin and Vienna. The managing directors are Hermann Waldner and Michael Weiss. Both partners contribute their long-term experience in job placement and software development to the project development. taxi.eu currently works together internationally with various taxi offices in more than 100 European cities. There are currently 62,000 taxis with 160,000 taxi drivers that can be ordered automatically via the taxi.eu app. In a further 4,500 cities and municipalities, the app also connects directly with the nearest regional taxi switchboard. The application taxi.eu is based on the IT-based and ultra-modern fleet management from the provider FMS, which is used by numerous taxi offices on the European continent. The app regularly secures top spots in tests, especially thanks to its prevalence, its variety of features and ease of use.
Contact:
taxi.eu
Hermann Waldner
Managing Director
fms Systems GmbH
Berlin Branch
Persiusstraße 7
10245 Berlin
Tel.: +49 (0)30 202021101
Email: presse@taxi.eu
www.taxi.eu