Ingogo (company)
 | |
| Industry | Taxi booking and logistics, Technology |
|---|---|
| Founded | August 2011 |
| Headquarters | , Australia |
Area served | Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney |
Key people | Hamish Petrie (Founder & CEO) |
| Website | www |
Ingogo is an Australian company that specialises in online taxi bookings, mostly for corporate clients. Cab drivers process fares using a mobile application on Android smartphones.[1] The company services Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.[2][3]
Overview
The company has its own GPS-enabled booking system, and allows any nearby taxi service to pick up a fare regardless of which taxi service they work for.[4] The company was the first in Australia to provide passengers with fixed fares, which included all tolls and charges, and no surge pricing or extra fees due to traffic jams.[5][6] Ingogo's system allows users to book a taxi up to two days in advance.[7] The company has focused on gaining corporate clients such as Qantas.[8]
History
In 2011, entrepreneur Hamish Petrie convinced Moshtix, a company Petrie founded in 2003 and later sold to News Digital Media in 2007, that his idea was workable.[9]
In May 2014, the company closed its internet-based tax receipt service when it was discovered that a security flaw enabled people to access information about clients, the last four digits of credit card numbers and taxi number plates.[10]
In 2015, Ingogo raised $12 million in a funding round that valued the company at $100 million. It claims to have raised more than $16 million in total from Australian investors.[11] More than $4 million came from crowdfunding alone, which was a record on the Australian equity-crowdfunding platform VentureCrowd.[12] The Australian Federal Government has also given the company a grant.[13] Another investor was MYOB co-founder Brad Shofer.[14]
In December 2016, the company postponed plans for a float on the Australian Securities Exchange. It was reportedly considering preference shares or a rights issue in the short term.[11]
In 2021, passengers in New South Wales were able to book taxis through Ingogo using their Opal commuter cards as part of a six-month trial which included ride share and share bike companies.[15]
References
- ^ Foo, Fran (of The Australian newspaper) (15 October 2013). "Ingogo first cab off the smartphone rank". The Daily Telegraph. News Corp. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ Reilly, Claire (5 July 2017). "Now you can rate (and ditch) regular taxi drivers on Ingogo". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ Mckenzie, Matt (30 October 2015). "All taxi systems Ingogo as new app hits Perth". Business News. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
- ^ Dunn, Matthew (10 March 2017). "The Aussie man trying to take down Uber". News.com.au. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- ^ Johnston, Rae (17 May 2016). "Ingogo To Offer Fixed Fares For Taxi Rides". Gizmodo Australia. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
- ^ "The coolest 100 people in Australian tech". Business Insider Australia. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ Stiles, Jackson (2 March 2015). "The taxi apps you should be using". The New Daily. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- ^ Sinclair, Hannah (1 February 2018). "Adaptability the key to Ingogo's success". SBS Small Business Secrets. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ Dunn, Matthew (10 March 2017). "The Aussie man trying to take down Uber". News.com.au. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
- ^ Grubb, Ben (6 May 2014). "Taxi app Ingogo pulls online receipts after customer shows how thousands can be accessed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- ^ a b Thompson, Sarah (2 December 2016). "Ingogo looks to tap investors". StreetTalk. The Australian Financial Review. Fairfax Media.
- ^ White, Kye (29 May 2015). "Ingogo valued at $100 million after the biggest ever Australian equity crowdfunding raise". Smart Company. Private Media Pty Ltd. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ White, Kye (14 October 2014). "Government's move to fix employee share scheme welcomed by startups". SmartCompany. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
- ^ Francis, Hannah (9 May 2016). "Taxi wars heat up as Ingogo introduces cancellation guarantee". The Australian. News Corp. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ Rabe, Tom (30 March 2021). "Opal card to expand to Uber, share bikes in world-first trial". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 15 July 2021.