Ride-sharing platform Taxify launches in London on Tuesday morning with thousands of drivers signed up.
Taxify, which will go live at 10am, is offering a 50 per cent discount to riders during September and has suspended any surge pricing.
The firm takes 15 per cent commission from its drivers, which is up to half the commission taken by Uber and other ride-sharing platforms. It says this allows it to offer lower prices for riders and more take-home pay for drivers.
Taxify, which already operates in 19 countries worldwide, also allows riders to pay using cash – and drivers to create a defined radius for pick-ups, meaning they don’t need to stray too far from home.
“London is a huge and thriving marketplace for private urban transport, and we’re excited to launch here,” said Markus Villig, founder and CEO of Taxify.
“We know that Londoners are crying out for an alternative to the options currently available to them and we have listened intently to what both drivers and riders want.
“We have based our business around a sense of fairness and transparency and it is testament to our business model that we have had thousands of London drivers sign up to Taxify in such a short space of time.
“We are enormously proud to be offering more choice and improved quality of service to riders.”
Finn Geraghty, UK operations manager, said: “Drivers can expect to earn 10 per cent more when driving with Taxify compared to competitors.
“Taxify achieves this by offering loyalty rewards to drivers in conjunction with lower prices to riders.
“Our focus as a company has always been providing our drivers with higher revenue-per-ride, as we’re firm in our belief that happy drivers means happy riders.”