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"Tech startup Wheely is challenging London&amp;#039;s Black Cabs with a new app that promises to make getting around the capital &amp;quot;cheaper, greener and safer&amp;quot;. Free to download now for iPhone and Android, Wheely allows users to book a &amp;quot;fully specced, green-fuelled Toyota Prius&amp;quot; from &amp;quot;a TfL-approved fleet&amp;quot; for trips around central London. Wheely claims that its fares are around 40% cheaper than Black Cabs, and 37.5% cheaper when compared to trips with Addison Lee. All fees are also quoted upfront, meaning that there should be no nasty surprises when coming to pay at the end, or fears about a meter rapidly ticking over while the cab sits in traffic.   The service, which launches ahead of the London 2012 Olympics, offers cabs that come with in-car WiFi so that people can work on the go.  Users can let their clients and friends know where they are going to be, using the app&amp;#039;s real-time tracking feature.  Wheely also has social features, such as the ability to browse information on the driver and vehicle before they get in the car, along with previous ratings from other users.  The Toyota Prius has been carefully selected for its green credentials, as the vehicles are claimed to have 25% lower carbon emissions than standard road cars. The Prius is also used by Wheely&amp;#039;s launch partners, greentomatocars (www.greentomatocars.com) and ecoigo (www.ecoigo.com). Wheely is the brainchild of 23-year-old Russian entrepreneur Anton Chirkunov, who had become frustrated with the current market for cabs in the English capital.  &amp;gt; BBC chief operating officer claims more than \u00A31,000 in taxi fares &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t drive but hate the expense of Black Cabs, so getting around London used to be a real problem,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;I decided to create a service that would beat Black Cabs for value and comfort, as well as offering passengers access to WiFi while they are making their journey. I hope that everyone will love it as much as I do.&amp;quot; Wheely was founded in Switzerland in 2011 and is backed by Yuri Milner, the Russian billionaire behind investment vehicle Digital Sky Technologies (DST), which has invested in various other tech firms including Facebook, Zynga, Twitter, Spotify, Groupon and Sean Parker&amp;#039;s Airtime.  Milner awarded Wheely a grant of $25,000 as part of his StartFellows project, which aims to help the best and most innovative Russian startups. The Wheely iPhone app can be downloaded here, and the Android version is available here. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/smartphones/news/a388512/wheely-app-aims-to-shake-up-london-cab-market-with-cheap-eco-trips/>