Three Greek Australian taxi industry heavyweights have bought the rights to the Greek taxi booking app ‘Taxiplon’ and plan to launch it in the next month.
Harry Katsiabanis of TaxiLink, John Vlassopoulos of Ambassador Taxis, and Chris Sikavitsas of Cabways, who own more than 500 taxi licences combined are hoping to use the new booking app to create another source of income without resorting to 13Cabs and Silver Top.
“It just provides another opportunity for a driver to create some income,” Harry Katsiabanis told Neos Kosmos.
The app will provide customers with a way to directly book a taxi and private cars, effectively linking them to the drivers and owners on a one-on-one basis. It doubles as a taxi fleet management system and books taxis linked to the system accessible from smart phones and tablets.
The trio wants to trial it in Victoria first then launch it nationally, effectively bringing a new competitor to the big two.
The Victorian Taxi Association has cautioned any new booking service must abide by the same security and customer service standards as 13Cabs and Silver Top. Mr Katsiabanis has assured drivers will be certified and trained by their depot and would be suspended from the system if anything went wrong.
Expected release is in early July.