Taxicabs of the United States area. The president of United Cab discourages his drivers from carrying firearms, instead advising them to accelerate the car and crash into a lamppost or even a police car if they are threatened with a gun. Uber is a major competitor to taxi companies, providing on-demand for-hire car service through a smartphone app in many US cities. Uber services are generally treated as black-car services from a legal standpoint and are not generally regulated under Taxi laws. This can cause friction with both local governments and taxi companies. In June 2015, the city council voted unanimously to increase taxi fares;
Beat (app) Beat (app) Beat is responsible for developing a taxi cab and peer-to-peer-ridesharing mobile application, the Beat app, for smartphones and other mobile devices. Beat's headquarters are located in Athens, Greece, where it is popular among locals. However, about 90 percent of the company’s ride-booking activity is abroad, in South America, where more than 150,000 drivers have registered with the app. Beat is currently available in Athens and the capital cities of Chile, Peru, and Colombia. Formerly known as Taxibeat, the company was founded in 2011 by Nikos Drandakis in collaboration with associates Kostis Sakkas, Nikos Damilakis and Michael Sfictos. The