Just had the following questions shot at me at our Twitter account (@cabchap):

“Hi just wanted to say interested but how will it work for black cab drivers.I’m on radio taxi and fed up paying subs for not enough work. How big can this get and what benifit will there be to me and the passenger”

What is CabChap?
CabChap.com is a new service, that allows to share mobility. It basically works like a cab dispatch on steroids. Drivers and Passengers sign up directly with the service. A customer will be able to specify what she needs (‘I want a licensed black back with child-seat and credit-card payment’), suitable drivers will be contacted and one given the job.

What is different from current radio dispatches?

1. CabChap does not charge on a regular interval. There will be no weekly/monthly fee and no setup-fee.
2. CabChap does not require the cabby to invest in radio hardware. All communication is done via a regular cellphone.
3. You can just hop on and off as you do with the cabs.
4. Passengers will be able to use their iPhone and Blackberry in the short term and a voice call in the long run to book a cab.
5. Currently we are covering UK and Germany, shortly we will be available in UK, DE, US, CA and AU – which may bring an interesting clientele to you cabbies.

What are the benefits for the passengers?

1. Quick, one click pickup just by using their smartphone wherever they are in the (civilised :-) ) world.
2. In the long run (itlr) the cab-base will be much bigger than with the average dispatch = better availability and less waiting
3. May specify and rate driver/car (“I just want to get three-start drivers”)
4. itlr may offer company services to enable suits to easily use cabs (like some dispatches do today)

What are the benefits for the cabby?

1. Save money on subs
2. Just pay when you e.g. get a possible job offer
3. On and off as you please
4. Get the job offers on your mobile wherever you are, not just in the cab.
5. No need to pay for/rent a radio equipped cab
6. Test and use CabChap next to your current dispatch, no risk, just more work.

“Can I still sign up.if your recruiting black cabs drivers if I’m on a radio cicuit already.and will all jobs be meter or bid fix priced.”
Great! I must admit that currently I am prepping beta2 – which basically means another little piece of buggy software – to be released in a few weeks time. beta2 will be able to handle signups and maybe even handing out jobs ;-) Other than that I am not 100% sure what we will get done until then.

“Is the app ready or soon to be as o can’t find it.sorry for so many questions it’s just that I’d like to know from s drivers point of view”
The Online-Service is still closed (see beta2 above), once the beta2 is live the iPhone App will be available (so Apple will).

“If it will work like radio taxi ie bid for work or all work on a screen or nearest cab gets offered the job.I’d love to be in at the start and help however I can Let me know again sorry for all the questions just eager to get on board early”
Welcome! – I will definitively invite the Twitter-Cabbies on the trial, but it may take until autumn to get going in London. I plan to have a first round of tests in Germany. Look at it this way: until we reach you most of the bugs will be gone.

“Thx cabchap if I think of any more I will let you know.I’m a mohr driver so plenty of thinking time”
Thats good, because I need your input and experience (aka I don’t have a clue). I’m not a cab driver so I am approaching the problem more from the technical point of view. Let me know if you disagree with me or have more questions.