The streets of London were blocked by disgruntled taxi drivers earlier this week but up here in Liverpool the future is looking bright for hackneys. Future Cabs Limited took its first booking back in March and has already generated lots of additional revenue for drivers of the city’s black cabs, by offering pre-booked journeys for the same price as those in smaller, private hire cars.

Old Swan based Future Cabs has a simple but effective premise; it allows black cabs to rank and be hailed in the street as normal, at the same time providing them with the means to compete with private hire. The business uses cutting edge technology to open up a new revenue stream to an old industry and, pivotally, it is exclusively for hackney drivers.

As a result, the public can now access fit for purpose, 5 and 6 seater cabs at the same rate as private hire vehicles, which usually only seat 4. Like Uber and Hailo, the organisations causing controversy in the capital, Future Cabs uses as app-based system that gives customers the flexibility to hail a taxi from their phone or tablet and receive a price before they set off. Unlike its counterparts, Future Cabs is committed to remaining for the exclusive use of hackney cabs.

Gerard Murphy, Director of Future Cabs Limited said:

“Future cabs exists to protect the business of hackney cabbies by helping them move with the times and generate additional business. I am a fully licensed hackney driver myself and I have family and friends that are as well. The company was born out of my desire help protect the livelihoods of drivers like them.

“Future Cabs is here for hackneys. That’s our mission statement.”

The system adds a level of safety and convenience for both drivers and customers. Future Cabs drivers are provided with a smartphone, equipped with the same technology used by the iconic yellow cabs in New York. It utilises GPS tracking to show operators exactly where the drivers are in relation to bookings. When a booking comes in the system automatically picks the closest cab. Just three months since the launch of the business, Future Cabs drivers are pleased with the increase in efficiency as well as workload, as the service means less fuel used in driving around, looking for fares. Customers know which cab to expect and exactly when, because they have watched it approach on the map!

Future Cabs GPS location tracking journeys are safe, economical, energy efficient and available across Liverpool now. You can download the app or register as a driver at www.futurecabs.co.uk.