Thursday, August 15, 2013

Flywheel Expands Into Los Angeles, Ramps Up Taxi vs. Rideshare Battle

The fight between Los Angeles taxicab drivers and services like Lyft and Uber haas just gotten even more interesting, as mobile app developer Flywheel said it has launched in Los Angeles. Flywheel develops a mobile app which lets users hail local taxi companies, track locations, and pay with their smartphone, and says it has launched its service across Los Angeles. The app developer--which recently raised some funding from local Los Angeles investor Craton Equity Partners--develops software which essentially provides Uber-like smartphone functionality to any taxicab company.

Flywheel said it is looking to provide the tools that taxi companies need to compete with the "often illegal" ride-share companies that have cropped up recently. Los Angeles has become a battleground between an entrenched taxi industry and upstarts Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar, all of whom have been the target of the City of Los Angeles, which ordered those companies to leave in June, despite a state deal with those firms over how they should be regulated. Flywheel said that its service is now available in "hundreds" of Los Angeles taxis this past week, and it is helping to "take back the streets" from ride share services. Flywheel's service is available across LA everywhere except Beverly Hills. The company also said it is offering up a $10 ride credit in Los Angeles for users to try out the service, with promo code FLYLA10.

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