TAXI passengers in Glasgow will benefit from improved safety thanks to a new booking app that is used in New York.

 

GetTaxi displays a picture of the driver to passengers as well as his or her name and vehicle registration.

It also allows passengers using licensed black cabs to make credit card bookings, up to two weeks in advance.

Following success in London, GetTaxi is expanding to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds.

It takes the total number of cities to 30 including New York, Moscow, London and St. Petersburg.

Passengers can also now book a cab by speaking into their smartwatch, as the the creators have extended the service to Android Wear smartwatches.

Users can speak directly into the device, which finds the user before sending a car to that location.

At present it is available only on Android Wear, but its creators plan to extend it to all smartwatches including the much-anticipated Apple Watch.

Remo Gerber, CEO of GetTaxi UK, said: "We've been in London for three years and it's been fantastic to see how we have connected passengers to drivers.

"Demand for the app elsewhere in the UK has always been there and we've decided now is the right time to expand into these new cities.

"We're working closely with regulators, UKTI and drivers to provide the safest and most reliable means to get around."

Drivers have already been recruited in all six cities including Glasgow.

E-hailing apps have become increasingly popular with 83% of the UK population owning a smartphone, the economic impact is huge.

Users can download the GetTaxi app at: http://dl.gettaxi.co.uk