ViaVan, a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and US ride-sharing startup Via, has launched in the capital to offer Londoners shared journeys on demand. Think of it as being a mix between UberPOOL (Uber's carpooling service) and a bus.
The idea is that you open an app and summon a ride, just as you would for Uber. ViaVan calculates the demand for your route, matches you up with passengers travelling at a similar time, and directs you somewhere to wait for your ride.
You're then dropped off somewhere near your destination without, ViaVan promises, a lengthy detour.
ViaVan doesn't offer individual rides, so you will always be sharing with others.
The service is only available in central London Zones 1 and 2 for now, with all rides in or out of Zone 1 costing £3. The company hasn't said how much it will start charging once the discount period is over.
It's a brave move given intense ridesharing competition in London — and the fact that two services, Uber and Taxify, have now lost their licences to operate in the city.
Chris Snyder, chief executive of ViaVan, told Business Insider that the service was properly licensed. He also said the service gave a higher commission to drivers and took their safety and wellbeing seriously.
"If you could look into the textbook on exactly how you should be licenced, that is how we are licensed," he told Business Insider. "It's just like Uber, Addison Lee, or any other private hire companies. We have been through a thorough process with [regulator] Transport for London. We are confident we will launch [on Wednesday], with the full blessing from the regulators."
London is ViaVan's first UK city, but it also operates in Amsterdam.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/uber-rival-viavan-just-launched-in-london-2018-4
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CLEETHORPES
Another woman has been dumped in the street, alone and in the dead of night by a taxi after a night out in Cleethorpes.
People trying to get home after a night out in the resort have been urged to go to taxi ranks rather than hail cabs from the street.
A woman got in a taxi around 1.30am on Sunday after friends looked after her so she could get home safe. But she was kicked out when she felt ill, and left by the roadside as the taxi drove off.
The incident is the latest in Cleethorpes which has triggered concern about people being abandoned by taxis late at night before they have reached home.
Last week it emerged a woman was dumped in the street in Holton-le-Clay just yards where tragic teenager, Liam Toner was found dead in a ditch in December after being dropped by a taxi miles from his home Ulceby after a Christmas night out with workmates.
The 24-year-old taken in a red taxi, thinking she was getting a lift home to Louth. But the driver ordered her out of his taxi, despite her repeatedly telling him she had enough money to pay the fare.
Today a friend of the woman involved in the latest incident in Cleethorpes posted a message on Facebook alerting revellers to the incident.
She said friends had got the young woman into a taxi and given the driver £10 to take her to her home in Humberston. But on the way at Hewit Circus she complained about feeling unwell and was kicked out by the driver and told to walk the rest of the way.
The friend said: "My friend was put in a taxi at around 1.30am on Sunday . She was put in the taxi in the Market Place Cleethorpes to be taken home to Humberston. Her house is near the Grosvenor pub. My other friend had given the taxi driver £10 to take her home. On the drive home the friend who was in the taxi had said she felt sick. She wasn't sick though.
"So the taxi driver pulled over and kicked her out at Hewit Circus and told her 'to walk from here' and did not give her her change.
"It was around a 20 to 30 minute walk to her house. My friend was intoxicated but luckily enough she was able to know where she was going and aware enough to get home."
https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/cleethorpes-taxi-dumps-young-woman-1469214
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