Uber’s primary rival in Europe, Taxify, has rebranded to Hopp in a bid to appease London’s transport regulator and win again its working licence in the British capital. 

Taxify is hoping the name change will ease its path to a relaunch in London after it was pressured to droop operations final September. Taxify notified drivers concerning the change in early December.
Part of the rationale for the rebrand is a 20-year-old law in the UK which suggests solely conventional black cabs or hackney carriages can name themselves taxis. Private rent automobiles, resembling these you’d rent via Uber or Taxify, cannot name themselves taxis.

A Taxify spokesman confirmed the name change and informed Business Insider: “[As] a requirement by [London regulator Transport for London], we have utilized for a licence with the intention of buying and selling beneath a special model in the UK to keep away from any confusion with conventional taxi providers. 

“We’re working very intently with TfL in the intervening time and are optimistic about having excellent news for Londoners quickly.” 

Transport for London didn’t reply to a request for remark. 

Taxify was based by 24-year-previous Estonian Markus Villig and has raised funding from Daimler and Chinese journey-hailing big Didi Chuxing.

It had a brief-lived presence in the UK final yr, launching on September 4, 2017 however suspending its service just four days later thanks to irregularities over its licence.
Cab companies like Uber and Taxify want working licenses to do enterprise in the UK, and Taxify had taken a shortcut to a licence by acquiring a small, local firm.

 Regulators, it turned out, disliked the association.

Taxify appointed a new UK chief in November, ex-Gett CMO Rich Pleeth, and has been making an attempt to win approval for a licence since.

Villig, Taxify’s founder, informed Business Insider in a November interview at Web Summit that the agency had prioritised including security options to its app in order to appease London’s regulator. 

“I have been working for round 13 months with TfL going by means of all types of procedures to present we’re the most effective operator in phrases of security, operational high quality, establishing a name centre, SOS patterns in the app… a tonne of various necessities to present we’re actually the perfect operator we might be,” he stated.



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