Taxi-Location App, goCatch, Looks to Expand to Asia

Getting a taxi in Singapore during peak hours – or on the outskirts of Sydney – can be a real pain sometimes, and Sydney-based startup, goCatch, aims to solve that problem. It is a free smartphone application that connects taxi drivers directly with passengers.

The taxi-location app uses GPS to allow passengers to book and track taxis close to their location using their smartphones. It also has a points systems in place, ensuring taxi drivers pick up their passengers, awarding them when they get the job done well. Their efforts will be paid off in the future through more jobs given to them during off-peaks or in locations where there are fewer passengers.

The app is catered to both passengers and taxi drivers. Passengers are able to view the locations of taxis on the goCatch map, key in the details of their destinations, and even watch their taxi drivers approach their location. Conversely, taxi drivers can also download and use the app to find out where the passengers are and get more jobs. At present, this only works for taxi drivers who are registered with the goCatch service.

And more recently, it was crowned the winner of the Microsoft APAC Startup 2012 Award, and impressed the judges with its expansion plans out of Australia. In fact, goCatch had a booth presence in the recent CommunicAsia event held in Singapore.

On goCatch’s plans in Singapore, and possibly, Asia, co-founder Andrew Campbell (pictured right, the dude on the left), briefly tells us:

Our plan in Singapore is to find partners and start building long-term relationships that will help us grow throughout Asia. Also we are keen to get involved in the startup community here [in Singapore], which is really buzzing at the moment.

For those folks (particularly the ones based in Australia) who are interested to give it a try, you can get it on iTunes, Google Play, and Windows Phone Marketplace.