Category Archives: Announcements

Taxi Vs. Uber: A study on what travelers prefer

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Which is better, a traditional taxi or a rideshare like Uber?

Recently, the rideshare and taxi comparison website, RideGuru, released results to a comprehensive rideshare survey detailing how our society views rideshares, taxis, and other methods of ground transportation.

The results were fascinating and more specifically the outcome of rider perception on the ever present “taxi vs. Uber” debate was quite surprising. It seems with all the talk and hoopla surrounding rideshares that taxis, sadly, are becoming a thing of the past, however, 53% of travelers claim to have zero preference between a taxi or rideshare company.

According to a follow up survey, participants revealed that the three main reasons they continuously switch between various taxi and rideshare companies is 1. price, 2. availability, and 3. customer support.

While rideshares tend to be cheaper than taxis, they can be problematic during busy times when few cars are available. Riders have to either wait until demand has died down or pay extreme surge prices, many times paying more than they would with a traditional taxi.

It is also no secret, that Uber’s customer support is not all that helpful. For those riders who value good customer support and the security of knowing their ride will be available when they need it, a good old taxi is the much safer option.

Which do you prefer Uber or Taxi? Comment below!

What is Cargo? The new service that puts extra cash in the hands of drivers.

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As Taxi or Rideshare Driver, we know you’re invested in finding the best ways to increase your earnings while on the road. One of our favorite ways to easily boost driver income is through Cargo, a platform that helps you earn more money by providing small products to your passengers.

Think of it as a free store inside your car that allows you to earn around an extra $100 per month!

  • Cargo is 100% free for drivers.
  • Cargo helps you increase ratings and tips.
  • Cargo works with all rideshare companies.
  • Cargo drivers earn an extra $100 on average.
  • Top 10% of Cargo drivers earn $300+

Cargo’s system is easy for drivers, sending new products automatically when you run low. Products range from snacks, small electronic accessories, personal care, energy, and beauty products that keep your riders comfortable throughout their trip.

How does Cargo work?

Riders scan the QR code, or go to cargo.menu on their browser, to start shopping. Once they decide what they would like, the rider checkouts through the app, and then the driver hands over the purchased items when it is safe to do so. Simple as that!


Driver Testimonials

Here are some testimonials from drivers on the RideGuru community forum:

“When passengers see the box, they get super excited. It’s been a great way to engage with riders and start a conversation. Passengers are really surprised and excited when they realize they can get free items.”

“I’m making an extra $20-$50 extra a week that I didn’t have before Cargo. I’ve used this money to treat myself to things I wouldn’t normally buy.”

Drivers receive payouts from Cargo every week and if you receive any tips through Cargo, they are 100% yours. It’s a great way to make some extra cash with very little extra work and no extra time out of your day!

Try Cargo today!

Auto Insurance Options for Rideshare and Taxi Drivers

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Where can I get rideshare insurance? Do I need special auto insurance as a taxi driver? If you are a driver and you find yourself asking these questions, take a moment to read this article from RideGuru and understand what rideshare insurance covers and why it is important.

In most cases, if you drive a personal vehicle for a ridesharing application such as Uber or Lyft, the insurance policies provided by the rideshare companies will not cover you fully in case of an accident.

Luckily, as the ridesharing market has boomed in popularity, auto insurance carriers have developed unique insurance plans that will cover you for both your personal driving and for the periods of time you are picking and dropping off passengers.

Before we get into different policies, it is important to understand the 4 coverage periods that a typical driver will find themselves in.

Rideshare Insurance Coverage Periods

Period 0: App is off; you are not rideshare driving.

Daily routine trips that have nothing to do with ridesharing. Your personal policy covers you.

Period 1: App is on and you’re waiting for a ride request.

Period 1, when a driver has logged into the app and is waiting for a ride request, is when drivers are the most vulnerable for an insurance gap. Your personal policy doesn’t cover this period and Uber and Lyft insurance is limited to a small amount of liability coverage.

Period 2: You’ve accepted a request and are en route to pick up your passenger.

The rideshare company’s policy will cover most expenses during this period.

Period 3: You’ve picked up your passengers.

You are fully covered by the rideshare company’s policy.

Why do drivers need rideshare insurance?

Rideshare insurance has gaps. As highlighted above, rideshare insurance coverage only applies after you have accepted a ride request but will not cover you while you wait for a ride.

Not only is your personal insurance unlikely to cover any incidents while your rideshare drivers app in on, you could even find yourself with a completely cancelled policy if you haven’t disclosed your side hustle to your carrier.

Not all insurance companies offer rideshare insurance policies. If yours doesn’t, it’s time to look elsewhere, who knows you may even find a better rate! RideGuru’s rideshare insurance finder can help you easily find a quote in seconds.

How Much Does Rideshare Insurance Cost?

Like personal auto insurance, rideshare insurance costs depend on multiple factors such as your location, driving record, the amount of coverage you desire, the number of miles you drive your car, etc. Typically we see the add-on of rideshare insurance to be about $5 – $18 extra per month but depending on which insurance carrier you go with, you may be able to reduce your insurance cost altogether.

FAQs

I got in an accident without Rideshare Insurance. What should I do?

Hopefully you never find yourself in this situation as the ramifications for getting into an accident without the proper insurance coverage can be very costly. If you are in this situation and your personal insurance carrier will not cover you, the coverage from your rideshare company should take away some of the burden, however, it may be a relatively small amount depending on when (what period) you had your accident.

Is Rideshare Insurance Available in my State?

There are some states that currently do not offer rideshare insurance. Check to see if your state is one of these and if so, contact your insurance provider to get advice on what you should do.

Do I need Rideshare Insurance to drive for Lyft or Uber?

In short, yes. Many states require rideshare insurance if you are driving customers for money, regardless of the application.

Looking for more information, check out this Rideshare Insurance Thread on RideGuru’s Forum and discuss options with other drivers.

RideGuru iPhone App, a Travelers Best Companion

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Want to compare the cost of taxis, limos, Uber, Lyft and others while on the go? Wish there was one app that could hail any taxi or rideshare for you? Check out the new RideGuru iPhone app, the search engine for all rideshares.

The RideGuru iPhone and iPad application compares rideshare and taxi rates across hundreds of services (Uber, Lyft, Ola, Didi Kauidi, Fasten, traditional taxis, limo networks, etc) in thousands of cities worldwide to bring you the best deals no matter where you are traveling.

Not only does RideGuru save you money, it also saves travelers time by allowing users to quickly filter their results to find a car that fits their specifications. Once the perfect ride has been found, simply hail or dispatch your desired ride straight from the RideGuru app.

According to the Press Release released today, “RideGuru is known to be the most robust rideshare comparison tool in the world. Through its vast support of all rideshare, taxi, and limo companies worldwide, users will feel secure in finding a local ride even if their destination is off the beaten track.”

If you plan on using rideshares or taxis during your upcoming travels, download RideGuru and travel with confidence!

To learn more about the RideGuru mobile app click here.

To view the Press Release please click here.

 

To view a Text Only Press Release please see below.

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Rideshare Aggregator, RideGuru, Now Available on App Store

Boston, MA, August 22, 2017

Calling all travelers!  This innovative rideshare search engine saves you time, money, and energy.

RideGuru, the rideshare comparison app, is now available for iPhone and iPad users. Powered by the popular travel website, RideGuru, the RideGuru mobile app is a search engine for rideshares and other on-demand ground transportation services. Users can compare costs of various rideshares and taxi services worldwide, then hail their desired car straight from the app.

Since RideGuru’s release in September 2016, the site has stood out as the aggregator of taxis, limos, and rideshares. Not only does RideGuru compare large on-demand car services such as Uber and Lyft, it also scours rates from hundreds of smaller services to bring the user an array of travel options. Through its vast support of all rideshare, taxi, and limo companies worldwide, users will feel secure in finding a local ride even if their destination is off the beaten track.

Ippei Takahashi, the CEO/President of Unleashed, LLC, states, “Thanks to the adoption of on-demand economy, there has never been so many ride options available. There are great offerings out there, but unfortunately, the consumers are either not aware of them or lack the visibility into the services they have access to.  That’s what we are trying to fix with RideGuru: provide visibility to the users and encourage competition between the providers.”

Lillien Kenyon, the business and operations lead at RideGuru, adds “Most travelers compare the costs of airfares, hotels, and car rentals. We want to bring the same philosophy to rideshares, saving travelers both time and money.”

The RideGuru app supports more than 100 rideshare services from companies such as Uber, Lyft, Juno, Grab, Curb, Fasten, Wingz, and Zum.  Users can filter the choices, by entering number of passengers, car type, accommodations, and other specialty features, such as rideshares for women and children or “shared rides” like UberPool and Lyft Line.

Once users have made their selection, they can dispatch the ride from Uber or Lyft directly, with similar dispatch support coming soon for other rideshare companies.

RideGuru is known to be the most robust rideshare comparison tool in the world.  To learn more about RideGuru’s groundbreaking fare comparison technology visit RideGuru.

About RideGuru
RideGuru, a product of Unleashed, LLC, is an all-inclusive rideshare and taxi information source. RideGuru is not another transportation service, instead, it is a search engine to help you find the best ride from point A to point B. It scours rates from hundreds of services worldwide to bring you the best deals.

About Unleashed, LLC
Unleashed, LLC is a Boston-based technology company that specializes in creating websites and smartphone applications to provide users with the information they need for daily decisions. The company is best known for creating the popular travel site TaxiFareFinder.com. TaxiFareFinder, released in 2007, is an online resource for all things related to taxis and rideshares. TaxiFareFinder is best recognized for its groundbreaking, location based, taxi and rideshare fare calculators.

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Calculate your UberPool or Lyft Line Ride with RideGuru

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RideGuru, a fare comparison calculator, just announced that they are now supporting UberPool, Lyft Line, and Ola Share rides! With many of these shared rides costing between 20-40% less than traditional services like Uber X or Lyft, it will be interesting to see how many people choose savings over comfort.

According to this blog post by Uber, in the first two years after releasing UberPool, riders requested more than 250 million UberPool rides and globally 20% of all Uber rides completed are through UberPool. Now that travelers have an easy way to compare the cost of various shared rides with other standard services, we wonder if that number will increase further.

Apart from adding shared rides, RideGuru also added a number of smaller rideshare companies to their site to give users more options when selecting a ride. Many of these smaller rideshare companies also help to fill certain niches like women only, airport rides, or rides specially designed for kids.

To learn more view the full Press Release here.

To view a Text Only Press Release please see below.

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BOSTON, MA, June 25, 2017

RideGuru took on a major expansion, adding more than 50 rideshare companies to their site. RideGuru’s mission has always been to bring transparency to the rideshare market by providing reliable fare estimates for rideshare and taxi companies around the globe.

With the recent boom of smaller, more niche rideshare companies, this transparency is more important than ever. Consumers now have multiple choices for ground transportation travel in almost every city around the world. RideGuru helps to cut through the chaos by bringing a fair and equal voice to the smaller companies.

Lillien Kenyon, the business and operations lead at RideGuru, expands on RideGuru’s mission saying, “We have always wanted to create a fair platform for all rideshare companies, big and small. With a few big players dominating the rideshare scene, it can be difficult for some of the smaller companies to be seen, even if they have competitive pricing or fill a unique niche. Through our addition of many of these smaller rideshare services, customers can get an unbiased look at the current marketplace and choose the transportation company that best suits their needs”

Not only is the rideshare market booming with new companies, it is also seeing a shift toward shared rides. Consumers are willing to share rides with strangers if it means a cheaper fare. RideGuru, to accommodate this trend, has added UberPool, Lyft Line, and Ola Share estimates in their Fare Comparison Calculator. With this new addition, users are able to see how much they can save by taking a shared ride over an Uber X or traditional Lyft.

Ippei Takahashi, the CEO/President of Unleashed, LLC, states, “This feature has been one of the biggest asks from our users, as the pricing rules for shared rides are very cryptic and difficult to estimate. While these offerings by Uber and Lyft are still unproven, this can be a very promising option for users to save money.  Are users willing to take longer trips and sacrifice comfort for cheaper fares?  We are thinking yes, but it may be limited to certain demographics.”

Takahashi also adds, “At RideGuru, we strive to be the most reliable and comprehensive resource for people who utilize on-demand ground transportation. Supporting UberPool, Lyft Line, and many of the smaller ‘challengers’ shows our commitment to this mission.”

For a full list of the companies that are currently supported on RideGuru click here.

About RideGuru

RideGuru, a product of Unleashed, LLC, is an all-inclusive rideshare and taxi information source.

RideGuru is not another transportation service, instead, it is a free search engine to help you find the best ride from point A to point B. It scours rates from hundreds of services worldwide to bring you the best deals.

About Unleashed, LLC

Unleashed, LLC is a Boston-based technology company that specializes in creating websites and smartphone applications to provide users with the information they need for daily decisions. The company is best known for creating the popular travel site TaxiFareFinder.com. TaxiFareFinder, released in 2007, is an online resource for all things related to taxis and rideshares. TaxiFareFinder is best recognized for its groundbreaking, location based, taxi and rideshare fare calculators.

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Advertise on RideGuru!

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Do you have a travel, transportation, or rideshare related business? Want to work with one of the top influencers in the travel realm to increase your brands exposure?

RideGuru, the authority in rideshare related transportation, just announced that they are now working to promote brands who add value to their reader base. Over the past year, RideGuru has grown to become one of the top resources for travel and trip planning with their popular fare comparison calculator launching them as the authority in the rideshare and taxi industry.

RideGuru reaches hundreds of thousands of travelers each month and has connections with over 50 rideshare companies. If you are looking to gain the credibility and respect of the travel community, check out RideGuru’s many new advertising opportunities!

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Save Extra Cash on Your Next Trip with RideGuru

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Disney TaxiWe love how our fans use TaxiFareFinder to continually find the price of their taxi rides around the globe. We are consistently getting feedback through our support inbox, social media, and comments section about how TaxiFareFinder has helped numerous travelers to better plan their transportation expenses for upcoming trips. It makes us happy to hear that our fare calculator is able to help relieve the burden of budgeting for a trip but we also find that many people, while happy they have found an estimate, are upset with the cost that is being calculated.

Travel is expensive and sometimes travelers just have to take a deep breath and spend the money to get from point A to B…but it is not always the case! Our sister site RideGuru may be able to help you save a few bucks on your travel expenses the next time you are looking to cut down on your trip’s budget. RideGuru not only calculates Taxi fares but it also simultaneously calculates the fares of all rideshare companies in your trip location area(s). When the results appear, you will be able to see multiple fare estimates across multiple ride platforms so you can pick the option that is cheapest for you.

ss3RideGuru also provides the option of ‘filtering results’ so you can narrow down your ride options by the number of passengers traveling, luxury vs economy, etc. Many times when people are traveling in a group setting they take 2 taxis to get around, but RideGuru will show you whether it is more economical to take those 2 taxis or one larger SUV. Many times the SUV rides are cheaper and will save the group money as a whole!

Perhaps the best part of RideGuru, is that once you have found your ride option that best suits your needs, you can hail the car straight from the website…saving you precious sightseeing time!

Happy Traveling!

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Thank you, fans. Looking forward to another great year!

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To our fans,

As an eventful year draws to a close, I wanted to take a moment to thank all our fans, friends, supporters and customers.  We have achieved so much in 2016, such as releasing the RideGuru, our new rideshare calculator and a community platform, and running a successful campaign to promote transparency for the rideshare market.  All the team members here and everyone reading this message have contributed to these causes, and we should all be proud of what we have accomplished.

The taxi and rideshare market is a tumultuous one.  The heated debates will continue, old rules will be scrapped while new rules will be created, and new controversies and challenges will arise.  Unfortunately, this trend will continue for the foreseeable future and certainly into 2017.  While we still continue to sort out the taxis vs. rideshare dilemma, we now face the human vs. machines dilemma with the introduction of autonomous cars.  The market seemingly is changing too fast for any of us to keep up.

While it sounds daunting, we all have to keep one thing in mind.  We are all on a journey to come up with something great and are facing the revolution of ground transportation.  In the 1990s, we saw the explosion of the Internet.  In the 2000s, we saw the invention of mobile technologies and social media.  Now, we are facing the same transformation in ground transportation.  What gives me hope is that whether you are a passenger learning new ways to travel, a driver or a fleet owner running a business, an engineer creating the technology, or regulators making new laws, we are all ultimately working together and towards the same thing, a better way for humanity to travel.

…and that’s a wonderful thing.  …and that excites me.    It should excite you too!

So, to our fans and everyone involved, thank you for a wonderful 2016.  We look forward to another great year.   Let’s continue to support and push this revolution together!

Ippei Takahashi

President / CEO, Unleashed

Unleashed Team

The Best (and Worst) Taxi Moments of 2016

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best and worst taxi moments of 2016This year we all heard a lot of news happening with taxis, both good and bad. We wanted to record and share some of the best and worst taxi moments of 2016!

  1. Some taxis went driverless! Still in testing phases across the world, these driverless taxis have been all the buzz this year. We’re expecting to hear even more as we enter the new year! best and worst taxi moments 2016
  2. New on demand taxi companies like Grab started challenging the big rideshare players, and they’re still fighting!
  3. Women are getting involved in the industry all around the world, breaking the stereotype that taxi drivers always have to be male, and hoping to prevent more sexual assaults. #WomenEmpowerment best and worst taxi moments 2016
  4. We saw some of the coolest taxi decorations. Ever. Guess how many light bulbs this taxi driver used to light up his cab? Over 8,000!top taxi moments of 2016
  5. Several taxi companies filed for bankruptcy in the midst of the rideshare takeover. In general, the number of taxis overall has been declining for these same reasons.
  6. 12 New York City taxi drivers were caught in a credit card scam, stealing almost $50,000 from passengers through fraudulent transactions.
  7. Taxi Driver of the Year: This Boston taxi driver returned almost $200,000 in cash after it was left in the back seat of his cab. He knew the money would change his life, but returned it to the police instead. best and worst taxi moments 2016

Wow, what a year! That’s all we got for the best and worst taxi moments in 2016, be sure to tune in next year to see what’s in store!

Happy Holidays TaxiFareFinder Fans!

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Wishing you Peace and Joy this Holiday Season and throughout the New Year!

-The TFF Team

holiday2016

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