Uber rival Taxify rebrands as Hopp in bid to regain London licence

Taxify has been forced to rebrand in the UK in a bid to convince Transport for London to grant it an operator’s licence.

The Uber rival now plans to relaunch as Hopp, because it legally cannot have the word ‘taxi’ in its brand. Taxify launched in London in September 2017 but had to suspend its service after a few days following a bungled launch involving the acquisition of an operator in order to take on its licence.

The failed launch saw a management overhaul at the UK operation, with Rich Pleeth joining as managing director and experienced lobbyist Dominick Moxon-Tritsch becoming director of policy.

Taxify notified drivers about the new Hopp brand change in early December. A spokesperson said: “We’ve applied for a license with the intention of trading under a different brand in the UK to avoid any confusion with traditional taxi services. We’re working very closely with TfL at the moment and are optimistic about having good news for Londoners soon.”