Flywheel - The Taxi App

When I first started using Flywheel it was great: I never waited more than 10 minutes for a cab the average time was 5 minutes. Five stars all the way! Most of the time that is still true. However, recently wait times have gotten longer and it is clear that some drivers are trying to game the system; instead, they are just shooting themselves and all their cab driving comrades in the foot. I hear drivers complain bitterly about having to compete with Uber. Yet I have drivers regularly cancel on me after making me wait. I give good tips; so that is not a likely factor. Recently my appointed driver actually pulled over right in front of me and picked up a guy then canceled on me even though I was clearly signaling that I was his ride (the app has a flashing light for this purpose). My name is very female, so there should have been no confusion about the gender of the person being picked up. I hope that driver got a puny tip for his trouble: he is the kind of driver that makes it hard for other cab drivers to make a living- the reason for the Uber competition.

I love Flywheel! I can’t say, I wish I ha thought of it first...because, well, I did. I had an idea for an app that would allow you to order a cab, and it would be dispatched. I even thought about having the app track the locations on of the cab. I talked to a few people, but found no interest. A few months later, the first apps appeared, but were not quite what I envisioned. Then the ride shares appeared. I never bothered. I stuck with cabs. When Flywheel arrived, it was what I wanted. I used it before it became Flywheel. It is still a solid app, and is hands down the best.

response required

Flywheel’s owner, Hansu Kim kicked 50% of the cabs driving for flywheel off the app today, in a sleazy attempt to strong-arm drivers into joining his cab company. This means 50% as many cabs on the platform, and longer wait times for passengers. He claims he is doing this to provide a higher level of service to customers but that is an obvious lie. He is trying to force drivers to switch to his cab company, so that he can consolidate power over San Francisco cab drivers. I chose to support the Cab Drivers of San Francisco by using the flywheel app, because I don’t like supporting Uber and Lyft. Unfortunately it seems like flywheel has is becoming no better than the competition. With half as many cabs represented by flywheel as a result of these strong-arm tactics from Kim, I’m done using flywheel.

response required

Flywheel has you put your Credit Card in their app, which I did. After getting out of the $15 taxi ride I discovered they charged my card $683. I called to request for my money to be returned and the guy on the phone laughed at me. Then I sent two emails requesting my money to be returned. Finally, someone said 5 to 7 days it would take for the funds to be returned. I have now been forced to file a fraud claim with my bank against the app. There is a major flaw in the app that allows drivers to charge whatever they want on your credit card and drain your bank account (even if temporary). Worst is the apps customer service as I didn't even get an apology from them for taking $683 out of my bank account for a $15 ride.

response required

The app on my phone lets me choose my address. Great. The app on the drivers phone says corner of 20th and Sanchez. There's NO car access to my address from Sanchez. This is a major problem. When Flywheel first came out, it was cool. You could add a note to the driver, i.e., "on the NE corner". Now there's no messaging function. This is a major problem for families who share one credit card account. Only the account holder's phone is connected to the drivers. The app should have instant messaging so potential passengers can send messages without needing to dial a phone number. This was a problem waiting for a driver who didn't know how to reach my house on a cul de sac.