Karhoo, founded by British entrepreneur Daniel Ishag, announced yesterday that it has inked a partnership with the island's biggest cab operator, ComfortDelGro, reported The Straits Times. The new taxi booking app will launch in Singapore only in the first quarter of next year, and has already signed up over 17,000 taxis.

The app lets commuters pick a cab across companies, based on criteria such as price, time of arrival and type of vehicle. They are given a choice of taxis nearest to them.

Mr. Ishag, the company's Chief Executive, said Karhoo is different from peer-to-peer apps that match taxi drivers to passengers, because it relays its customers' booking requests to the cab operators' existing despatch systems. By being an aggregator for cab firms, Mr. Ishag adds that Karhoo will level the playing field and empower incumbents by increasing the booking jobs they receive.

Over the past year, taxi companies have come under fierce competition from private-car hire services such as Uber and GrabCar. Mr. Ishag said Karhoo will work only with transport operators that are licensed and accredited by the regulators, for commuters' safety and security, and to ensure that the drivers are professional. He is in the final stages of talks with the other four taxi companies - which account for the remaining 40 percent of the over 28,000 cabs here.

Mr. Ishag expects to increase bookings to cab operators by at least 50 percent in a year. On the customer end, he hopes to cut waiting time for a taxi by between 25 percent and 30 percent.