Yesterday was a milestone day in the history of NYC taxi cabs. For the first time ever, you can now get into a cab, get taken where you want to go, and get out of the cab without taking out your wallet to get cash or a credit card.
Most of us have experienced this wonderful feeling with Uber or Hailo in London, Toronto, Boston, Chicago, Dublin, etc, etc but it has not been possible in a cab in NYC. Until yesterday.
The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has been conducting a year long pilot program to allow mobile apps to hail yellow cabs on the streets of NYC. Until yesterday, you could hail a cab from a mobile app but you could not pay from a mobile app. But our portfolio company Hailo has completed the integration of their systems with the two credit card payment systems that are used in NYC cabs and now if you use the Hailo app, you can hail and pay with your mobile phone.
If you have Hailo on your phone and you live in NYC, give it a try. If you don't have Hailo on your phone you can download it for iOS and Android and then give it a try. I can't wait to do so myself.
