Hailo

Used Hailo 3 times. One time all was ok. The second time they forgot that I had a leftover credit of usd 6 which has disappeared.
My last ride was around 8 dollars which the driver confirmed on the end. Turns out I got finally charged around 24 dollars. I imagine it is for a snow charge — neither Hailo nor the cab driver have indicated that nor the meter shown it.
Good news is that they refunded me the 15 dollars extra charge in 24h — so 3 stars instead of 1.

The cab driver was the worst I’ve ever had in DC. In addition to driving us well beyond the address we specified (and not turning off the meter), he seemed technology illiterate when it came time for me to pay using the app. Specifically, he couldn’t figure out how to accept the tip I wanted to give via the app (a generous 20%). He apparently figured it out after I left the cab, however, because my account was charged TRIPLE the tip that I had authorized. To make matters worse, Hailo does not have a working phone number listed anywhere online or on the app. Their cop out «Help» option is to send an email (which has yet to receive a response). DO NOT download and use this app.

If you haven’t used Hailo yet, do it! Being a typical DC gal, I often don’t carry cash on me. I love that Hailo charges my credit card directly. Only negative is that it doesn’t allow me to plan my travel in advance because the cab is sent out as soon as you request one. But the fact that Hailo donates $ 5 of most my rides to various non-​profits, makes up for it.

I’ve used Hailo four times since I signed up for the service in June. While the concept is a good one, Hailo still needs to iron out some kinks in its system.
To get started with Hailo, you simply download the app to your smartphone, create an account and enter your credit card information. When you’re ready to hail a cab, you enter your pickup address or have Hailo identify your current location using location services. Then you click on «pick me up here.» The app then sends your desired pickup location to a nearby driver whose name, picture, telephone number, and license plate are subsequently displayed on your app. The app shows the taxi’s progress as it approaches your location with a countdown to the driver’s arrival time. Once the taxi arrives, you tell your driver your destination and he transports you to your location. Once en route, you can select the percentage that you’d like to tip the driver or adjust the amount if you’ve had a change of heart and want to leave a tip that’s different from the percentage you previously selected using auto tip. Once you arrive at your destination, just hop out of the cab and go. No need to spend extra time taking out cash or credit cards. The fare and tip are automatically deducted from the credit card you have on file and the receipt is emailed to you a few minutes later.
Simple right? Or so I thought until I actually started using the service.
I used Hailo for the first time in July. I reserved the cab at 12pm and the app indicated that my driver would be there in 3 minutes. Great — except the time frame never changed! After waiting for about 10 minutes, I called the driver, who indicated that he’d get to me in three minutes. After waiting another few minutes, I called him to make sure he was able to find the location. In all, it took about 15 minutes for the driver to get to me when the app indicated it would only take three minutes. Major inconvenience!
After complaining to the company and getting a $ 10 credit, I decided to give Hailo another try a few weeks later. This time everything went well. I hailed the taxi using the app around 5:30pm and the car arrived within the time frame provided on the app and I got to my destination in a reasonable amount of time.
Fast forward to today. Hailo was offering free taxi rides all day, so I decided to use the service again. I hailed a cab at 11:30 am and the app indicated that it would reach me in about four minutes. Four minutes later, the app indicated that my driver had arrived when I was still standing on the corner of the street waiting to be picked up. I called the driver and he indicated that he was stuck in traffic. Fine, but why update your status to say you’ve arrived when you are clearly at least five minutes away? I was peeved.
I reserved another taxi later on in the day. Again, the app indicated that the driver would reach me in four minutes. Four minutes later, the app indicated that the driver had arrived and that I was on my way to my destination. The only problem with that notification was that I was still outside waiting for the cab to arrive. I called the driver and he said that he was at street number 1603, about a block away from the 1503 address that I had typed in. I’m not sure how he could mix up the address when I had entered it correctly on the app. At any rate, the driver made his way down the block and I hopped in the taxi. He asked me if I had used Hailo before and I said yes. He proceeded to complain about how Hailo is not a good business model and that he doesn’t appreciate the company taking a five percent cut of his cab fare. I let him stay on his soap box for the simple fact that I could not get a word in edgewise. His driving was a little erratic — he turned right on a red light even though there were signs displayed saying he could not turn right on red from 7am to 7pm. Also, he almost mowed down pedestrians in an attempt to beat the light before they finished crossing the street. He tried to drop me off across the street from my destination, but I made him do a U turn and drop me off in front of the building I was going to. I must say, this was the worst ride I’ve had with Hailo thus far!
After trying Hailo four times, I see no compelling reason to use this service over a regular DC cab. Sure, paying with the app is convenient, but the $ 1.50 surcharge on fares and the unpredictable taxi arrival times make this service unappealing.