Eastbourne taxis go live on FreeNow app after successful Brighton launch

Mark Bursa

Hackney taxi drivers in the south coast town of Eastbourne will be able to take jobs via the FreeNow app from May 3.

The move follows a successful launch of the ride-hailing service in nearby Brighton in 2018. The company registered a 25% growth in demand and a 10% growth in trips in the Brighton during 2022.

Vincent Franco, hackney taxi driver and committee member of the Eastbourne Hackney Taxi Association, said: “I’m delighted that Eastbourne Hackney taxi drivers are able to use the FreeNow app. The app is easy to use and gives me access to a huge customer base from the UK and Europe. This is a great advantage since it increases the chance to get more jobs from tourists and other visitors to the region.”

Mariusz Zabrocki, UK General Manager at FreeNow UK, said: “It is our job to continue responding to

Aberdeen is the city with the lowest risk of road accidents, according to Zego study

Mark Bursa

Aberdeen is the British city where you are least likely to have a road accident, a new study by taxi insurance company Zego has found.

Zego analysed ONS data to discover the number of road accidents in each UK city in 2021, both fatal and non-fatal. The number of accidents was calculated per 10,000 people to determine the ranking – with Aberdeen coming out as the clear safest, ahead of Swansea and Stoke.

Aberdeen reported the fewest accidents reported in 2021 (59), equating to just 2.79 for every 10,000 people. Indeed, four Scottish cities made the top 10, with Dundee in fourth, Glasgow in seventh and Edinburgh eighth.

Three Welsh cities also made the list – Swansea was second with 6.6 accidents per 10,000p people, while Cardiff and Newport took fifth and ninth places respectively.

Only three English cities made the top 10: Stoke-on-Trent, Bath and Milton Keynes. But at the opposite end of the scale, Doncaster was found to be the city with the greatest risk of accidents, with 36.23 collisions per 10,000 people.

A Zego spokesperson said: “Although the increased demand for our service across the UK. Following the success of FreeNow in Brighton, Eastbourne is the next logical step for us. Not only does this expansion help us to meet the increasing demand for fast and accessible travel in the area, but it also allows us to continue prioritising taxi drivers by offering them high earnings and other unique advantages of using our app.” factors that contribute to the safety of driving in these cities isn’t clear, it’s particularly interesting that four cities in Scotland make the list as well as three cities in Wales, suggesting that these countries are the least dangerous in the UK when it comes to road safety.”

Customers in Eastbourne are being offered a one-off 50% discount code for a journey, capped at £8 using code LAUNCH50. The discount is valid for one week once deposited in Eastbourne.

The FreeNow mobility app, coowned by BMW Group and MercedesBenz Mobility, is now available in more than 150 cities across nine European countries. Users can access all types of mobility services within a single app including public transport, taxis, private hire vehicles, car sharing, e-scooters, e-bikes and e-mopeds.

“However, while the risk of accidents in these cities is low, there’s still a small chance of a collision. To keep yourself safe, it’s important to stay alert while driving so that you can identify any potential hazards to protect both you and other road users as well as watching out for any warning lights on your dashboard in order to remain in control of your vehicle.”