Gett: Book black taxis

I hate seeing the idiots that criticize the application because they got bad service from a cab driver. The service is getting you a cab, providing a means of payment for the cab and a feedback system to review drivers. It is not a taxi operator. The app works well. I have used it in NYC, Tel Aviv and Moscow. It has worked flawlessly each place. To the person who complained that the driver took you for a ride, at least you have an email showing the route and a record that drivers name. If you are unhappy, go to the agency that regulates taxi cabs or sue the driver in court. Too much work you say - I agree, lump it and move on without blaming the App.

Drivers in Israel often ignore the app’s requirement if metered travel and instead will try to charge a set fee. This requires haggling. They will often drive away if you don’t pay what they ask for. Also, I found that sometimes drivers do not go to designated meeting spot. They park somewhere nearby, out of sight, and then cancel the ride saying you were a “no show.” A third problem is drivers commonly will accept the ride and then cancel it after you waited a while. This creates great delays and frustrations. There seems to be no negative consequences to the drivers in any of these scenarios so the problems persist. What is most egregious is that Gett charges the rider under all of the above circumstances. This requires the rider to pay or deal with Gett customer service. This has been a generally poor experience with unacceptably long waits and inconsistent results including them prematurely terminating the conversation. The app itself has a good interface. They fall short when it comes to their systems, their business-fear of losing drivers and their people.

The very first time I called a Gett taxi, somebody takes our taxi! Our driver picked up the wrong person! I tried calling him multiple times and he didn’t respond, and I couldn’t cancel it. However, once I rated the driver thankfully I was only charged 1 shekel. That’s never happened to me with Uber, where I’ve taken hundreds of rides. However, every subsequent ride I took went great, as Gett is super convenient compared to hailing a taxi in Israel. Being able to pay with credit card was especially helpful. Just make sure the taxi uses the meter or they can still charge you more than you expect, like a regular taxi, although all of my rides either used the meter or charged an appropriate amount. It would be awesome if at least an approximate rate is shown like it is for Uber so you have an idea of what you will pay before calling a taxi.