Hailo celebrates second Irish anniversary with new services

Hailo is set to celebrate its second anniversary in Ireland with new services targeting high-end and business users.

The Hailo Plus service, which will be rolled out in Ireland first, will select some of the company's higher end cars, such as Audi and Mercedes vehicles, and training drivers to provide a premium service to customers at a slightly higher fee than the regular Hailo journey.

"Dublin will be the first market to have this across the world in Hailo markets," said chief executive Tom Barr.

The company is also making its executive car service more widely available, along with its Hailo for business product, which opens the service up to companies. Both services have already been made available in other markets where Hailo operates, and had been tested in Ireland on a limited basis in recent weeks.

About 100 businesses currently use the Hailo for Business service, which allows employees to pay with cash card or business account through the app. The company gets the receipt and a monthly account statement.

“It’s something that’s been requested for some time and we’re excited to get into the arena with a product,” Mr Barr said.

The new service, along with the roll out of executive cars, will be available from next month.

“We think these new classes will really serve the Irish customer in a better and new way,” Mr Barr said.

Hailo was set up in 2010 by three London taxi drivers, who linked up with three entrepreneurs to bring the service to market. it first launched in 2011 in London, with Dublin following in 2012. It has now expanded further afield, and last year made it into New York. Ireland was the first country to get Hailo nationwide, when it announced it would expand to 20 towns and cities around the State.

The company uses uses GPS-enabled smartphones to match drivers and passengers based on both availability and proximity.