Gett by Lyft has begun introducing a private hire vehicle option into its London app, in a limited trial the company says is designed to prepare its systems for a future integration with sister platform Freenow.
In a message sent to drivers this week, the Gett UK team said the capital’s licensed black cabs would remain the app’s priority and continue to be presented to customers as the primary option. The new PHV service, which will be fulfilled by drivers operating on the Freenow platform rather than Gett’s own taxi drivers, is initially being rolled out to a restricted group of customers only, which the company says will let it monitor the effect on existing black cab bookings before any wider release.
Gett told drivers the change was a response to corporate customers increasingly using business travel accounts for personal journeys and asking for more than one vehicle type within the app — and warned that customers unable to find the option they wanted were switching to rival booking platforms instead. The company’s argument is that keeping those journeys inside its own app, even as a PHV booking, should help protect future taxi demand rather than erode it, with customers who prefer a black cab continuing to book one as normal.
Gett has not said how large the restricted trial group is or how long the initial rollout will run. For drivers, the practical impact will come down to how prominently each option is displayed within the app, which jobs get offered to PHV drivers, and whether customers who’d normally choose a black cab start opting for the alternative instead.
Addressing driver concerns directly, the company told its taxi drivers: “Black Taxis will be the primary option to users on the app,” adding that the new PHV service would be monitored to “protect your bookings.”
The move marks a notable shift for a platform that has long been closely associated with London’s licensed taxi trade, and comes as Gett continues to prepare for its longer-term integration with Freenow under parent company Lyft.
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