Being a downtown-loving non-car-owning family we taxi around quite a bit. More so after we had kids than before – go figure! Battling the subway system or taking long walks late at night is definitely not something we encourage, especially after a night out with a toddler and baby. While it is fairly easy to flag a taxi in downtown Toronto, the entrance of taxi apps such as Hailo has definitely made our lives easier. Truth be told we’ve given both local apps a go and prefer Hailo for our everyday excursions for various reasons.
First of all if you’re curious about the laws in Toronto around travelling with a baby in a taxi and the need for a car seat, read this post. I am actually not a fan of talking on the phone and I remember the hubs and I having to take turns to call the taxi dispatcher. Late at night it would take forever to get through and if it was a busy night the cabbie would pick someone else up if we were even a minute late in coming down. Add kids to this mix and battling to get them out the door – speaking on the phone is not something I enjoy.
Enter Hailo Toronto – a few clicks and voila! We not only do we know how far the taxi is but we also know who our taxi driver is. An amazing level of security is provided here. Sure your cabbie may be a chatty one or a bit on the weird end of the spectrum with plenty of advice on child rearing…but at the end of the day… You know their name, telephone number and their cab number incase you need it. As the kids get older and start travelling on their own, this would be a great way to keep track of their journey and parents can be the main account holder and easily log in to the same account as their older child. I’m no where near that stage but it’s definitely a good idea for parents of older teens.
Since we live in a very central location HAILO-ing a cab takes under 3 minutes on most occasions which is why we don’t HAILO until everyone is ready to head out – boots, jackets, back packs all strapped on. However we also live on a street that’s easy to miss and no one even knows there’s a residential property here so invariably we get a call from the taxi driver to confirm our location. I don’t mind this since it’s a direct call and a very quick one. As long as you drop your pin properly you should be all set.
However the MOST AMAZING thing here with HAILO is that we don’t need to sit and wait whilst the cabbie fumbles with his machine, muttering under his breath when we tell him we need to pay with a credit card. This used to happen to us ALL the time. They want cash and we hardly ever carry cash so when HAILO introduced the tap,tap and go process we were hooked. Arrive at the destination, pile everyone out, take a quick look to ensure that we didn’t forget anything and WE”RE DONE! No rummaging for coins in your purse or waiting for the credit card machine to get the signal. Everything is handled through the app and you can easily choose the tip you’d like to pay and even rate your driver. A few minutes after you bid farewell to the taxi your inbox receives a receipt so it’s great for tracking those expenses.
Price wise we find HAILO to be the cheaper way to app through the Toronto taxi circuit and yes it would be cheaper to call the taxi company directly – but we don’t mind paying a dollar or two more for convenience. Moreover we love HAILO’s customer service! Any issue is always promptly dealt with and you will often find me chatting to them on Twitter. Just for jokes. Our inner circle also loves these guys for their compassion – during recent storms and floods these guys have always come out to help the community and ensured that those stranded have been connected with a taxi. No extra fees or supply vs. demand gauging here. Atleast that has been my observance. Be sure to follow these guys on Twitter and Facebook as they have fun contests and share special credit codes with their followers – who doesn’t like a free ride?
Couple weeks ago the HAILO team asked me if I’d like to share my HAILO love with my readers and ofcourse I said yes!! We have a sweet contest for you downtown Toronto peeps. We will pick TWO winners and each will get a credit of $25 to whiz around Toronto. While you wait for me to pick the winner if you don’t have a HAILO account, download the app and be sure to include the code ” BABYANDLIFE ” in the credit section and you will get $10 to help get you started. Hailo is available as a free download from the iTunes App Store and Google Play.
Good luck everyone! I’d love to know how your experience with HAILO has been – in Toronto or during your travels!
