Tag Archives: lyft

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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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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More than One Taxi Company Shows it’s Possible to Compete with Ridesharing’s Big Two

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taxipeople-1Fast Taxi of Albany, NY has just launched a full service transportation app to compete with the outdated taxi system currently in place in Albany, a city where Uber and Lyft are still banned legally.  In just 3 weeks after launch, the company has over 40 vehicles servicing the area and is growing rapidly. Based on popular ridesharing apps, Fast Taxi has taken advantage of all the great features many consumers have become accustomed to, such as:

– Sending pickup address via gps
– Finding closest driver based on users position
– Tracking driver to your location
– Paying with credit card automatically
– Getting transparent fare estimates

You would expect the clear benefits of ridesharing technology to catch on in every city. The politics of how these companies suddenly started competing with local taxi businesses, however, is an entirely different story. One key point to mention is that most ridesharing apps provide no real form of insurance to their riders, and their drivers are not vetted up to the standard the rest of the transportation industry uses. This is where Fast Taxi, a company who intends for the inevitable ridesharing wars to arrive in Albany, has setup core principles and added new standards to put the customer first. Improvements featured in Fast Taxi and not typical of other ridesharing apps include:

– Fully insured rides
– Allowance of cash payments
– No surge fees
– Advanced bookings
– Fair, transparent pricing powered by TaxiFareFinder
– No account needed (web booking only)

The Fast Taxi App has been very well received in Albany and the company is expected to grow it’s operation throughout the entire state of New York in the coming year. You can expect the trend of taxi service styled ridesharing apps to grow rapidly for the unseen future.

Disclaimer: This post is a guest post written by Fast Taxi of Albany, NY

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Is Uber Riskier than Taxis?

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lost item in uber

If you need a ride to get somewhere, you may naturally reach for your phone and order an Uber or a Lyft. While there are many benefits of rideshare companies, there are also a few safety concerns regarding rideshare insurance and liability.

Rideshare drivers are exposed to insurance risks because their personal insurance could be dropped if they are using their car for profit by transporting others, and Uber or Lyft might not extend coverage to the driver in every circumstance.

If you are a rider, you could also be exposed to insurance risks because if your driver’s insurance company has dropped his policy and you are involved in a crash, you may not have any benefits to cover your medical expenses. Essentially, you are buying an unknown product because you don’t anything about your driver. There are some very tangible risks with rideshare companies as opposed to traditional taxi or livery services.

Ridesharing Exposes Riders to Insurance Risk

Before you call an Uber or a Lyft, you need to consider the risks that you face when you climb in that vehicle. Drivers for rideshare companies have variable coverage for personal injury protection. That means their personal auto insurance may not cover a crash that happens while they are acting as a rideshare driver. Uber coverage is only good while the driver is signed into the app. What happens if there is a problem and the driver’s cell phone dies or the driver is unable to connect to the Uber app?  Because their coverage is conditional, you can easily be on the hook for your medical bills in the event of an accident.

Ridesharing Exposes Drivers to Risks

There are many car insurance providers who can and will drop you for using your vehicle for commercial use. If you are using your car for rideshare, that qualifies as “commercial use.” If you are only driving part-time, buying commercial auto insurance may be too expensive for you, and without the proper coverage, you could be in big trouble if you are involved in an accident.

You may have to pay for your automotive repairs out of pocket and you could be liable for the medical bills and other expenses incurred by your passengers if they are injured in the crash. This is a risk that most people cannot afford to take.

Rideshare Companies Sell an Unknown Product

While you may think the product you’re using is simply transportation, there is a lot more involved when it comes to ridesharing companies. Unlike taxis and livery services, Rideshare companies are not regulated by the government. Companies like Uber and Lyft, provide background checks on their drivers but they aren’t that stringent. You are putting your life in the hands of your driver, so it is important to know the risks and take proper safety measures.

This article was written by Personal Injury Help, an organization dedicated to providing information about personal injury cases and the personal injury claims process. This article is intended for informational purposes and is not to be construed as legal advice or opinion.

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Help Us to Keep Rideshares Transparent!

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With the release of our new site, RideGuru, the TaxiFareFinder/RideGuru team has become passionate about bringing transparency to the ridesharing community. Rideshares, such as Uber and Lyft, have their benefits but they also can be hampered by a lack of transparency.

Take a look at the video below to see how RideGuru is helping to bring insight into the ridesharing industry and let us know your thoughts below!

RideGuru – A New Rideshare Initiative

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rg1We are excited to announce that the groundbreaking rideshare fare comparison calculator, RideGuru, which was originally hosted on TaxiFareFinder.com was officially released this morning as an independent website at Ride.Guru.

While the sites main attraction is its ability to compare rideshare fares across thousands of cities for a vast number of rideshare companies, it is also a place for riders, drivers, and travelers to come together.

To kick-start Ride.Guru’s community, the RideGuru team built a Q&A platform called, “Ask a Guru”. “Ask a Guru” connects rideshare drivers and riders not only with each other, but also with industry experts. Questions that are submitted will be answered by real insiders, such as actual rideshare drivers and representatives.  RideGuru has even partnered with Harry Campbell, otherwise known as “The Rideshare Guy”, who will be directly interacting with the visitors!

For travelers, RideGuru is providing a wealth of knowledge not only related to ridesharing but also in regards to general travel tips and tricks. Through Ride Guru’s city spotlights, users can find city specific travel information on multiple cities worldwide. Additionally, through RideGuru’s Instagram, Newsroom, and Newsletter, visitors can get ideas on where to travel next and can engage with one another on the best ways to get from point A to point B.

RideGuru is place of pure transparency within the rideshare marketplace. Curious which rideshare company is cheapest, RideGuru can show you. Interested in which rideshare company pays back the most to their drivers, RideGuru will let you know. Have a question, RideGuru will make sure to provide you with an unbiased answer. Check it out, join the community, and happy ride-hailing!

To view RideGuru’s Press Release please click here.

 

To view a Text Only Press Release please see below.

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RideGuru – A New Rideshare Initiative

BOSTON, MA,  September 20, 2016

Travelers rejoice! The ability to easily compare ridehail options such as Uber and Lyft is now available. Unleashed, LLC, the Boston-based technology company best known for TaxiFareFinder, officially released their newest site and initiative, RideGuru. RideGuru brings transparency to the rideshare and ridehail markets, something many riders and drivers have been seeking.

RideGuru’s primary feature is its comparison fare calculator. When to and from locations are entered, RideGuru will calculate and display fare estimates for a multitude of ride options, enabling comparison shopping for the end users.  It is able to provide estimates for all possible rideshare and taxi options for a given trip, complete with a breakdown of the potential fares.  Each estimate gets a “fare card”, and users can narrow down the cards by using filters, e.g. specifying the number of passengers, selecting luxury vs. economy experience, etc.

There are other calculators in the market that have attempted to provide similar comparative information, but they are being shut down by Uber and Lyft for violating their API terms of service. RideGuru is different. Using the same trusted technology and algorithm that the company created for TaxiFareFinder.com, RideGuru can derive fare estimates without the use of external APIs.  This means that it is not reliant on rideshare companies providing the estimates.  To provide accurate and trustworthy fares, RideGuru keeps a database of thousands of rates, and the algorithm is continuously optimized by real fares provided by users and drivers.  This ensures RideGuru’s estimates are as accurate as possible.

Ippei Takahashi, the CEO/President of Unleashed, LLC, states, “The innovation that rideshare and ridehail companies brought to the market is very impressive.  While many welcome its emergence, it is also disruptive in a way, as it forced fast transitions to the market and left a lot of uncertainty and confusion among the consumers.  For example, the fare and payout structures can be complex, and the rules and regulations can be vague.  Our mission is to bring transparency to the market by providing useful tools and informative resources, and through connecting people with rideshare experts.”

RideGuru is truly making waves as the Expedia of ride-hailing services.  It supports a vast number of major rideshare companies, such as Uber, Lyft, Curb, Ola, Didi Kauidi, taxis and more, and the list extends across over 70 countries.

In order to provide unfiltered information and industry knowledge to the public, RideGuru is hosting a Q&A platform called, “Ask a Guru.”  Rideshare consumers will be connected with industry experts and questions will be answered by real insiders, such as drivers, travel authorities, and representatives from service providers.  RideGuru has partnered with Harry Campbell, also known as “The Rideshare Guy” who will be directly interacting with the visitors. Harry is eager to spread his expertise through RideGuru, stating, “My goal is to answer any question you might have about the world of rideshare.  Whether you’re an experienced veteran of Uber or just heard about it for the first time today, I’m here to help!”

Furthermore, once a user finds their desired ride, they can simply sign up and/or hail the car straight from the site for most of the ridehail services.  The user, if interested, can also view the driver take-home pay as a part of the fare breakdown.  This feature gives the public an idea of how much is going to the driver and how much is going to the ridehail companies.

RideGuru strives to become a community and platform for all information pertaining to the ridehailing industry. With today’s release of its fare calculator as well as the Ask a Guru forum, RideGuru will start equipping the public with all the information they need to navigate this innovative but often confusing market.

 

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. With taxi and rideshare rates for more than 2,000 international locations, TaxiFareFinder is the proven, trusted trip companion for travelers around the world.

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Can you schedule rides in advance with Uber?

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Can I schedule a ride with Uber in advance? The answer is, finally, Yes!

According to a recent blog post on Uber’s newsroom, Russell Dicker, an Uber product head, stated:

“We’ve heard from our riders that sometimes they want to arrange a pickup in advance so they can rest assured that an Uber will be available when they need it, even if it’s for a 4AM ride to the airport.”

Uber is starting their scheduled rides program in Seattle with plans to expand globally. According to Uber “top business travel cities” will be the next cities to try out Uber’s scheduled rides feature. Dicker also stated that Uber for business customers and riders who have business profiles will be given priority access.

The current scheduling tool only allows users to schedule an UberX styled car for pickup, although users can schedule that car anywhere from 30 minutes to 30 days in advance.

When riders wish to schedule a ride, they will be able to set their desired pickup time (in 15 minute increments) and their pick up location. Uber will then send out 2 reminders, one 24 hours in advance and a second one 30 minutes before the scheduled ride pickup. Up until the second reminder, riders will have the option to change their pickup location or cancel their ride with no penalty.

While scheduled Uber rides may seem like a dream to a lot of riders, there is one negative aspect, surge pricing. According to Uber, if you schedule a ride in advance and then at pick up time surge pricing is active in your area, you will still have to pay the higher fare. While Uber states that they will alert you of the surge in advance and even give you a 5 minute window to cancel without penalty, users may still be stuck scrambling for a cab last minute or forced to pay the higher fare.

While Uber may seem ahead of the curve with scheduled rides, they are actually only following in their competitors footsteps. Lyft, actually announced that they were testing scheduled rides in San Francisco a few weeks ago on their blog.

Currently the only real difference between Lyft’s and Uber’s scheduled rides program is that Lyft’s scheduling options are more short term. Lyft riders can presently only schedule rides between 30 minutes and 24 hours in advance. However, with with the copycat style of competing between Uber and Lyft, we wouldn’t be surprised if Lyft expanded their scheduling time frame!

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What is Juno, the new rideshare company?

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Have you heard the rumors about the new rideshare company that could outshine Uber? Introducing Juno, a 100 employee startup created by founder Talmon Marco and recently launched in NYC.

Juno is still in beta mode but they are making some hefty promises to take on the rideshare giant, Uber, by creating a more driver-friendly service. Marco claims that Juno will only take 10% commission from drivers (Uber takes 20%) and that drivers will also have the chance to actually have a stake in the company. On top of the higher wages, drivers who agree to work exclusively for Juno (in other words jump ship completely from Uber and Lyft) will be eligible to be full-time employees, something Uber and Lyft drivers have been campaigning for since the beginning of ridesharing.

While driving for Juno might seem like a perfect opportunity, not just anyone can sign up to be a driver, instead, drivers have to earn their coveted spot. At this moment, Marco has stated that Juno will only consider hiring Uber and Lyft drivers that have a rating of 4.7 stars or higher. Also, the driver must be in compliance with the Taxi and Limousine Commission of New York and will need to be able to speak English.

Although Juno is still in beta testing, they are currently paying thousands of NYC Uber and Lyft drivers $25 per week, simply to keep the Juno app on while driving around their normal Uber and Lyft routes. This data will prove invaluable to Juno once they start operating at full speed.

While Juno is still learning to walk, they have announced that they are ready to start giving rides to passengers in NYC! If you want to join their beta program you will receive 35% all your rides in NYC.

Our team here at TaxiFareFinder is eager to see Juno’s stamp on the rideshare market As their founder, Marco, states “I think what’s most important is not whether you’re the first,” he says, “but whether you’re the last.”

Can I take my Dog in a Taxi or Uber?

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Do Taxis allow Dogs?

When looking to take your dog in a taxi or Uber, the most important thing to remember is that the decision lies solely with the taxi driver. While this may seem daunting, there are some key things you can do to make sure you score that dog-friendly taxi ride.

  1. Call a taxi company ahead of time. Most taxi companies are used to customers requesting to bring animals along for the ride. If you call ahead of time, the dispatcher can make sure to send a dog friendly taxi driver right to you. Make sure to be honest about the size and breed of your dog as some drivers might only be ok with certain types of dogs!
  2. Utilize taxi stands. If there is a taxi stand near you, go up to the taxi driver in the front of the line and ask if it would be ok to bring your dog. If the driver says no, you have a whole line of cabs to go down and ask! Most cab drivers will see your dog behaving nicely as he walks beside you and won’t have a problem giving a ride to your friendly pal!
  3. Show off your well behaved dog. If you do have to hail a cab on the curbside, make sure your dog is sitting very nicely beside you. If your dog looks calm and well behaved, drivers will feel more comfortable stopping and picking up you and your dog!
  4. Bring a towel. If your dog is a big shedder or loves to dig holes at the park, make sure to bring a towel or blanket to put over the seat. Cab drivers are notorious for taking pride in their clean cars and if you try to hail a cab with a wet, muddy dog chances are slim that you will find a ride.
  5. Bring a carrier. If your dog is small enough to fit in a carrier that you can hold or place beside you, definitely use it! Most cab drivers have zero problems giving a lift to a dog if it is contained within a carrier.
  6. Tip nicely. If you get a driver who is happy to have your dog in their car, make sure to show them you appreciate it!

 

Does Uber allow Dogs?

If you are looking to travel via a rideshare company with your puppy like Uber or Lyft, the rules are more or less the same as taxis but with one major difference. Since you cannot call a rideshare vehicle ahead of time like you can with taxis, we recommend ordering your Uber or Lyft from your rideshare app as usual and then immediately calling your driver to inform them that you have a dog with you. Most drivers, we have found, will be happy to take your dog but some would rather not. If this is the case you can simply cancel your ride and request a new driver without the hassle of arguing with your driver once they have arrived at your pick up location.

 

Our YouTube Channel

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When you are looking for advice or help it is always nice to have a plethora of helpful articles right at your fingertips but sometimes you may not have time to read through multiple articles, searching for the answer to your question. Our team here at TaxiFareFinder, knows how valuable your time is and while we love creating various articles to help answer any and every rideshare and taxi question imaginable we also created a YouTube channel for those seeking fast information.

We have videos on “What is Ridesharing”, “How to use our RideGuru tool”, “How to Order an Uber or Lyft “, and more! Check it out today and let us know what other videos you would like to see in the comments below!

Click Here to Visit Our YouTube Channel.