When it comes to 2014 in the automotive arena, the year will be known as “the year of the recall” and the “battle of the car services.” Yesterday morning, GetTaxi, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based taxi service announced that it would drop its price anywhere in Manhattan (under an hour) to $10 per ride.
GetTaxi ‘s statement
According to the company’s website and yesterday’s blog post:
That’s right, any ride within Manhattan is now just $10! Any time of day, any route, any Manhattan neighborhood, just $10. Fidi to Gramercy? $10. Midtown to the Lower East Side? $10. Chinatown to Washington Heights?! $10.
And the best part? These prices are here to stay until the end of 2014 and There is no limit to the amount of rides you can take! That’s 4 whole months of unlimited dirt-cheap luxury black car rides!
*Prices do not include tip. All rides must be entirely Manhattan rides. Rides to and around other boroughs will be regular advertised price. Extra stops and additional wait time not included. Rides over 60 minutes will be subject to additional fees.
The company recently acknowledged that it had raised $25 million of its planned $150 million Series D funding which would take it up to around the $200 million it hopes to raise. Peanuts compared to Uber, which is now backed by over $1.5 billion in venture funding but closer to Lyft’s $332.5 million in backing.
Each of these companies are trying to gain market share in, what could be argued, is the most desirable taxi market in the world, New York. Uber cut its fares to ridiculous levels, Lyft offered new users heaps of rides and now Gett has slashed its prices by half or more.
What makes GetTaxi different?
GetTaxi which offers luxury car service is relatively unknown in New York but shouldn’t be for long with a flat $10 rate. The company is considerably better known in its “home town” of Tel Aviv, as well as Moscow and London.
Gett’s prices are aimed at being less variable than those of Uber‘s and Lyft’s with flat fares accompanied by peak hour charges. Bookings can also be made two weeks in advance using the company’s licensed private livery cars.
One has to assume there won’t be a fourth to the game any time soon.
