LONDON – A new taxi app that partners with local taxi fleets to provide customers service on their smartphones, is now available in London.

Gata Hub, an app designed by Toronto start-up Gata Labs, is in competition with taxi services like Uber but unlike Uber it partners with local taxi fleets instead of providing their own drivers and cars.

“Gata provides the cutting-edge technology needed for these taxi fleets to compete with Uber and retain their market share in the taxi space,” Liam Casola, a third-year Western student who interned with Gata Hub over the summer, said. “Currently, Gata is partnering with U-Need-A-Cab in London to offer this service. The service is live, you can order a ride today.”

The app is available for free download on Apple’s App Store and on Google Play for Android devices.

According to Casola, the app is very user-friendly and simple to use and can be extremely convenient for students because they can order a cab by just tapping a button.

“All you have to do is make an account, tap on ‘Request a Taxi,’ and a taxi will arrive at your location,” he said. “You can even see the estimated time that the driver will arrive at. Instead of having to call a number and wait for a dispatcher, hailing a taxi is now as simple as tapping a button.”

Apps such as Gata Hub provide local taxi fleets an opportunity to make their traditional taxi services more accessible to customers and in the process also compete with an app like Uber.

“We’re very excited to launch in London and think it’ll be great for students as well as the greater London community,” Casola said.