Uber alternatives: The best of the rest taxi-hailing apps in London

Unless it wins its appeal, Uber’s licence to run in London will be permanently revoked. The firm had until 13 October to file official opposition to the plans and it can continue operating until the appeal process ends.  

However, this caused panic among people who rely on the cheap – albeit controversial – taxi-hailing app. So much so, it conversely pushed the app to the top of the App Store, according to Hitwise data, as people either rushed to use it or the publicity made it more popular. 

It also boosted the rankings of some of its rivals, though. Hailo jumped 63 places into 39th place, whilst Gett increased to 21st place (see below).  

Taxi App	Ranking before(w/e 9/9)	Ranking after(w/e 30/9)	Change
Uber	2	1	+1
Hailo	102	39	+63
Lyft	90	60	+30
Addison Lee	52	24	+28
Gett	37	21	+16
Cabify	185	191	-6
Taxify	12	54	-42

Source: Hitwise

If you’re looking for an Uber alternative, to avoid paying the huge prices of black cabs in London, we’ve listed the best below. 

Uber alternatives in London

Kabbee

Kabbee isn’t a taxi-hailing app, and, as such, is not a licensed minicab or private hire firm. Instead, it provides booking and payment options for existing licensed cabs and private hire vehicles.

It claims to be 65% cheaper than simply hailing a black cab on the street by offering a price comparison across 70 UK providers. This gives it access to 10,000 London cabs. You can book from five minutes to three months in advance and drivers accept cash or card, or you can set up an account. Kabbee doesn’t currently let you book Hackney carriages but said it will offer this service soon.

MyTaxi/Hailo

 Hailo merged with European taxi-hailing app MyTaxi earlier this year to create what the company calls “Europe’s largest taxi app.” It employs more than 100,000 registered taxi drivers across more than a dozen countries, and this includes black cabs in London. MyTaxi was founded in Germany in 2009 by Niclaus Mewes and Sven Külper.

Following the news about Uber losing its licence, MyTaxi dropped fares by 50%. In a tweet, MyTaxi said: “We are undercutting UberX on the news that they are not fit and proper to operate. Discount applied automatically.” 

BlaBlaCar

BlaBlaCar positions itself as more of a carpool service letting multiple people share a journey – typically over long distances. To find a ride, just type where you’re heading, where you’re leaving from and when into the BlaBlaCar website and choose the best option. You can also message drivers for more information if need be. Booking and payment is done online, at which point you reserve your seat. At this point, the driver’s number will be shared with you. 

Drivers can alternatively tell would-be passengers that they’re taking a particular trip to advertise room in their car. 

Gett

Israeli startup Gett claims to be different (read better) than the likes of Uber by offering a set price structure, avoiding the likes of surge pricing. Like MyTaxi, it also works with licensed taxi drivers.

Gett runs in London as well as Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow, Leeds, Oxford, Cambridge, Reading, Slough, Milton Keynes, Brighton, Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Leicester, Coventry, Sheffield, Nottingham, Bradford, Hull, and Newcastle.

Earlier this week, Gett partnered with Citymapper with the expansion of Gett Together. Currently, Gett Together works with black cab drivers to run set routes around London. At any point along these routes, multiple people can hail a cab and share it, similar to what Uber does with UberPool. 

Gett Together runs from Monday to Friday from 7-10am along two different lines and the position of a car can be seen on the app. It’s designed to run like a bus route for black cabs. The current routes are Ladbroke Grove > Notting Hill > Paddington > Marble Arch > Green Park and Belsize Park > Swiss Cottage > St John’s Wood > Marylebone > Baker Street > Euston > St Pancras. As part of its partnership with Citymapper, Gett Together will run from Highbury & Islington and Waterloo, through Angel, Farringdon and the Aldwych. This initiative starts on Monday 25 September and Gett claims a journey between Upper Street and Somerset House is predicted to drop from an average of 40 minutes on existing public transport to 15 minutes with Gett Together.

Journeys will cost just £3 however far the passenger travels along the Gett Together line and will additionally run from 5pm to 8pm. 

Addison Lee

Addison Lee is one of London’s largest private hire companies and is typically used by businesses or for longer journeys, to airports for example. It offers higher-end cars and fixed pricing. Addison Lee prices remain the same, with no surge charges at peak times and the company takes bookings up to three months in advance. It claims the average time to pick up on-demand in Central London is just 10 minutes and passengers can pay with cash, card, PayPal or an Addison Lee Priority Account.