Gett, previously known as GetTaxi, is an Israeli 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. The app is compatible with iPhone and Android platforms. Gett currently operates in more than 120 cities across Israel, Russia and United Kingdom.
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 in Hebrew started operating in Tel Aviv and two years later, in the summer of 2011, and the service was launched in London in August 2011. In March 2012, GetTaxi branched out to Moscow, and opened their first USA offices in New York City. Mashable predicted "This App Will Revolutionize the NYC Taxi Experience". 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.
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.
The company is being sued by Human rights organisations following accusations of Racism. The app features a Mehadrin service, offering users in Jerusalem the choice to request a taxi that is not driven on the Sabbath, the weekly Jewish day of rest, and some Jewish holidays. According to the lawsuit, in October 2018, two people posing as aspiring drivers met Gett's Jerusalem representative, Herzl Moshe, and according to the investigation's report Moshe said he would never sign an Arab driver to the Mehadrin service, even if they agreed to Gett's terms. “Let me tell you a secret',” he said in recorded comments, "Gett Mehadrin is not for religious . It is for people who don’t want an Arab driver. When my daughter wants to travel, I order her a Gett Mehadrin. She doesn’t care if the driver is religious or not because what she wants is a Jewish driver." He further is said to have advised an Arab driver, "I have 1,500 Arab drivers, and not even one of them works for Mehadrin; nor will they".
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. In September 2015, 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. 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.
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.
