Shortly after its deployment in
Riders press a "hail" button on the app and confirm their location. At the end of the ride, the app automatically charges the passenger pay a flat hailing fee plus the amount on the taxi's meter. Passengers also have the ability to add a tip.
The hail/pay mobile app combo is an alternative to the ride-sharing app Uber and does not involve "surge pricing" as Uber does.
More than 1,400 of the 1,600 licensed taxis in Philadelphia are already equipped with Way2ride, Verifone's system for mobile hailing and payments. Though the hailing feature launches today, the Way2ride payment app has been downloaded more than 45,000 times in Philadelphia since the app's launch in 2014, Verifone said.
"Verifone's payment solutions are already used in the majority of cabs throughout Philadelphia, so Way2ride provides passengers and licensed taxis in the city an enhanced app for taxi payment and hailing," said Amos Tamam, senior vice president of global taxi systems for Verifone, in a Sept. 17 press release.
Verifone also plans to support the app in Boston, Miami, Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas, with deployment in all markets in 2016.
