GetTaxi　　Via (company)　　YANDEX

Gett, previously known as GetTaxi, is a global on-demand mobility company that connects customers with transportation, goods and services. Customers can order a taxi or courier either through the company’s website, or by using the company’s GPS-based smartphone app. The app was first developed and popularized by Israeli company GetTaxi.[1] The app is compatible with iPhone and Android platforms. Gett currently operates in more than 100 cities across the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia and Israel.

History
GetTaxi was founded by Israeli entrepreneurs Shahar Waiser and Roi More. Waiser came up with the idea in the summer of 2009 during a thirty-minute wait for a taxi to the airport in Palo Alto, California. GetTaxi’s beta version started operating in Tel Aviv two years later, in the summer of 2011,[2] and the service was launched in London in August 2011.[3]

In March 2012, GetTaxi branched out to Moscow, [4][5] and opened their first USA offices in New York City. Mashable predicted “This App Will Revolutionize the NYC Taxi Experience”.[6]

By June 2012, the company had raised US$30 million, including $9 million more from British-based American billionaire industrialist Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries Fund, to facilitate GetTaxi’s entry into New York City as well as other U.S. markets. In August 2014, the company raised a $25 million investment from Vostok Nafta Investments.[7]

Pricing and payments
The Gett revenue model varies from country to country. It usually includes any of these three models: charging monthly dispatch fees from taxi drivers, charging a per ride fee from drivers or charging fees for corporate rides. In New York City, Gett plans to add a feature for splitting taxis with other users in nearby area. [8] [9]

Reception
The Gett app was positively received by mobile users and technology blogs such as TechCrunch and Mashable, and was often described as a revolutionary service. The app was awarded the best application by Time Out Tel Aviv. Taxi drivers in Tel Aviv were welcoming to the new service, but several taxi fleet owners have prohibited drivers from using the application, fearing the competition.[6][10]

Jim Edwards, founder of Business Insider UK, compared Gett and Uber as a user in Edinburgh. From a driver’s viewpoint, Gett was very useful in that it helped to find fares that they otherwise would miss; but in bad weather drivers took advantage of the many fares to be found on the street, and none were available to users on Gett. In similar conditions Uber applies increased “surge prices”, but is still available (cars do not ply for hire on the streets). Edwards took advantage of a promotion, and did not compare prices; he found Gett’s old-school Hackney cabs more comfortable, and the level of service provided by Gett at quiet times to be similar to Uber, but “rubbish for people who aren’t standing on the main street but still need a ride” at times of high demand.[11]

Strategic partnership with the Volkswagen Group
In May 2016, Volkswagen Group announced that it would be investing $300 million in Gett, allowing Gett to grow its operations across European markets, as well as marking the first foray into the mobility space by the Volkswagen.[12]

Via Transportation, Inc. also known as Via is a privately held American transportation network and real-time ridesharing company based in New York City. The company was founded in June 2012, by Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval, the company’s mobile-phone application facilitates group travel for a flat rate. Via operates in the all five boroughs of New York city, areas of Chicago, and Washington DC.[1][2] The company’s technology is used in ridesharing projects in Paris, United Kingdom, and Austin, Texas.[3]

As of June 2017, it was reported that Via had raised $137 million in financing to date
History and funding
Via was founded in 2012 by Israeli entrepreneurs Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval.[5] The service is based on the founders’ experience with Sherut taxis in Israel.[6][7] The service originally operated exclusively in Manhattan, before expanding to Chicago in November 2015.[8]

In April 2015, Via completed a $27 million Series B financing round.[9] In May 2016, Via completed a $70 million financing round led by Israeli investment firm Pitango, C4 Ventures, Hearst Ventures and Roman Abramovich bringing its total funding to over $107 million.[10][11] In August 2016, Via launched its service in Washington D.C.[12]

Via launched a partnership with the French transportation company, Keolis in January 2017. The partnership uses Via’s technology to a shared ride service operated by Keolis subsidiary LeCab.[13] That same year, Arriva UK Bus in the United Kingdom and Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Austin, Texas partnered with Via under similar agreements.[14][15][16] In June 2017, Via partnered with Curb to allow users to hail a yellow taxi for a shared ride in certain areas of Manhattan.
Service
Via’s focus is pooled transportation, matching multiple passengers headed in the same direction with an available vehicle. Via is headquartered in New York with offices in Tel Aviv, Chicago and Washington D.C.[19]

In order to expedite service, passengers are picked up and dropped off on the corner of a block nearest to their pickup and drop-off locations, as opposed to the exact addresses.[6] The service operates more like a dynamic bus line than a taxi service, and charges users a flat rate for a ride.[6] The Via service is approved for use with commuter benefit cards.[20]

Reception
A reviewer for The New York Times in March 2015 wrote, “The S.U.V. that picked me up for Via, with one other passenger already in tow, was neither as fast nor as efficient as a service like Uber. But it was friendlier and, as it tends to carry multiple passengers at once, more community-minded than any other car service I’ve taken. And with a flat rate of $5 a ride, it was cheaper, too.”[6]

Via’s carpooling has also been profiled for facilitating networking among passengers.[21]

自動車市場へ進出
2016年、ヤンデックスの自動車搭載システム・ラボラトリーの責任者アンドレイ・ワシレフスキーは、「私たちは、トヨタやホンダとの協力を継続する予定であり、すべての自動車メーカーに対してオープンである」と語った。同年8月末には、ロシアのトラック・メーカーKAMAZと人工知能（AI）に基づくシステムの創出に関する契約に調印しており、車線内の走行維持や、緊急停止の指示や、運転手の疲労度確認も可能とするサポート・システムを開発予定。既存のナビゲーターは、トラックを軽自動車のように狭い道や低い橋の下へ誘導してしまうため敬遠されがちであるといい、この種のサービス向上にも意欲を見せている。ワシレフスキーによると「ヤンデックス・ナビゲーターは、多くの都市におけるルートの設定をサポートしているが、サービスにおけるチャートは、プロの地図作成者ばかりでなく最初に変更に気づいたユーザー自身によっても更新され、新しいインターチェンジや道路情報カメラや走行速度規制などに関する情報が、追加されている」という[4]。