While Uber is under fire in several countries from angry taxi companies and taxi drivers especially in Europe and Turkey, It's hard to keep Uber up and running because of legal constrains and lockdown. But with an  open-source solution that anyone can install and run, there might be an answer to such problems.

LibreTaxi is an open-source completely free of charge Uber alternative which allows user to use a commonly used Telegram messaging application to request a taxi nearby with simple few clicks.

The whole system works as a Telegram intelligent bot, making a use of Telegram's messaging potential as a successful messaging app like instant messaging, push notification, maps and geolocation integration and all mobile devices support.

Features

  1. Open-source: AGPLv3
  2. Supports all devices Android, iOS and Web because it's based on Telegram
  3. Free of charge: LibreTaxi does not require or share any fee from the drivers
  4. Supports multiple languages: English, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, French and more.
  5. Battery friendly: The GPS tracking is disabled if not required
  6. Cash only mode, No credit card is required
  7. No drivers credit (Which raises some privacy and security concerns)
  8. Minimal tracking for privacy reasons
  9. Minimal setting menu
  10. Supports taxis, motorbikes and scooters
  11. Negotiable pricing

Extend LibreTaxi

LibreTaxi can be extended with JavaScript programming by adding new features and functionalities. It also can be integrated with CRM or ERM solutions, or even used to build more enterprise solution with more desktop, web apps and mobile apps because it's open-source.

Install LibreTaxi

It takes a second to have LibreTaxi ready to be used through your Telegram application through this link: https://telegram.me/libretaxi_bot.  But  be aware that it's about the availability in your city and how popular LibreTaxi is in your country among taxi drivers and users.

Resources

  1. Website: https://libretaxi.org/
  2. GitHub: https://github.com/ro31337/libretaxi
  3. Photo by Rodolfo Clix from Pexels