Tokyo cabs have lots of great features, including doors that open automatically and white-gloved drivers, but they have also traditionally had hard-to-estimate and hard-to-anticipate metered fares—but now there’s an app for that!
Starting tomorrow, August 7, four of Tokyo’s taxi operators will be testing the app, which lets users book cabs from their phones, and to lock in the price displayed by the app. The trial period will run until October 6; if it’s successful, other operators will be free to adopt it as well.
For now, it only works for fares of 3,000 yen or above, but that limit could be lowered in future. But for now, knowing what the ride will cost, or if splitting it with others will be cheaper than everyone buying a train ticket, may lead more visitors, especially, to hail a cab.
Photo: Mic/Wikimedia