When a fleet decides to launch its own taxi app, one of the first questions is what it will be called. It seems like a simple decision, almost a matter of personal taste, and it's often settled in an afternoon: the company name, a word that sounds good or something with "taxi" and the city's name. But an app's name stays with the fleet for years: it appears in the app store, on the icon on every passenger's phone, on the cars, on social media and in every word-of-mouth recommendation.
The thesis of this article is that a good taxi app name isn't the most original one, but the one people in your city can say, remember, type and find without effort. And there's one part of the decision that deserves special care, because it can't be changed afterwards. We'll look at what makes a name work, how to check it's available, which things can be changed later and which can't, how to think about the icon and how to test the name before launching it.
What makes a name work
A taxi app name has to pass a very specific test: someone hears it once, from a neighbour or a driver, and hours later searches for it in the app store and finds it first time. If that requires spelling it out, guessing whether it has a "k" or a "c", or remembering where the hyphen went, the name is losing passengers every day. These are the characteristics that help most:
- Short: one or two words, easy to say out loud.
- Easy to type exactly as it sounds, with no doubtful letters.
- Different from the big apps and from other fleets in your city.
- Clear that it's transport, through the name or the icon.
- With something local that people recognise as their own.
- Not dependent on a fad that will sound dated in two years.
The local element deserves a separate mention. Many regional fleets win precisely because they're from the city, and the name can say so: a reference to a well-known place, a regional word or the name people already know the long-standing radio taxi company by. If your fleet already has a recognised brand on the street, it's almost always better to keep it in the app than to invent a new one and start from scratch.
Checking the name is available
Before falling in love with a name, it's worth checking that nobody else is using it. Search for the name on Google Play and the App Store, on social media and on the internet, and pay special attention to other transport apps. A name that's the same as or very similar to another app's creates confusion: your passengers may download the wrong one, and the other company may object to the use of the name.
It's also worth checking whether the name is registered as a trademark in your country. Trademark offices usually have public search tools, and a quick search can prevent a serious problem later. If the name matters to your business, registering the trademark in your own name is a worthwhile investment; a local lawyer or agent can advise you on the process in your country.
What can be changed and what can't
Here's the part of the decision that's most often overlooked. An app in the stores has two different identifiers. One is the visible name, the one the passenger sees under the icon and on the store listing: that can be changed later, with an update. The other is the app's technical identifier, sometimes called the package name, which usually looks something like com.yourcompany.app: that stays fixed forever once the app is published.
If you later wanted to change that identifier, the only way would be to publish a new app, with a new store listing, and your passengers would have to download it again. They wouldn't receive the new app as an update, and the ratings and reviews from the old listing wouldn't carry over to the new one. That's why the technical identifier is chosen calmly, with the name of the company or brand you plan to keep, and not with the name of a test or a provisional idea.
The icon and the colours
On the passenger's phone, the name sits alongside the icon, and the icon is often recognised before the name. A good taxi app icon is simple, stands out at a small size and works on both light and dark backgrounds. It's best to avoid logos with lots of text or fine details, because on an icon they turn into a blur. A letter, a simple symbol or a recognisable silhouette usually works better.
Colours also communicate. If your fleet's cars already have a distinctive colour, using it in the app strengthens the connection between what the passenger sees on the street and what they have on their phone. And if the fleet doesn't yet have a visual identity, the app is a good opportunity to define one and then apply it to the cars, the business cards and social media.
We spent weeks thinking about modern names, but in the end we kept the name of the radio taxi base people have known for twenty years. People booked taxis using that name, and when we launched the app they searched for it that way in the store. What we did was change the logo so it looked good as an icon.
Common mistakes when choosing the name
The most common mistake is copying the big apps: names that imitate the sound, the ending or the colours of the international platforms. Besides the risk of a trademark complaint, those names work against you, because the passenger finds no reason to choose the local version of something they already know. Another common mistake is the name that's too generic, like "Taxi App" or "My Taxi" followed by the city's name: it's easy to remember, but impossible to find in the store among dozens of apps with almost identical names.
It's also worth avoiding names that limit growth. If your fleet only does taxis today but could add deliveries or service in another city tomorrow, a name tied to a single service or a single neighbourhood may fall short. And finally, avoid wordplay only its inventor understands: if it has to be explained, it won't work on the street.
Testing the name before launch
Before deciding, run a simple test with real people. Say the name out loud to five or six people in your city who aren't involved in the decision, wait a few minutes and ask them to write it down. If most of them write it correctly, the name passes the most important test. If each person writes it differently, you'll have problems every time someone searches for it in the store.
It's also worth asking your drivers. They'll say the name dozens of times a day, to passengers, on the radio and on the street. If they find it hard to pronounce or feel embarrassed saying it, they won't use it, and the name will lose its best channel for spreading. A name drivers are happy to say spreads by itself.
Finally, picture the name in every place it will appear: on a car door, on a business card, in a social media post and on the store listing next to other apps. If it's clear and stands out in all those places, you have a good candidate.
A name for years
Your taxi app's name is one of the few decisions you'll make only once and see every day for years. It doesn't need to be brilliant or original: it needs to be easy to say, type and find, different from the rest, with something of your city in it, and free for you to use. And the app's technical identifier deserves even more care, because it's the one thing that can't be corrected afterwards.
If you're about to launch, run the five-person test, search for the name in the stores and in the trademark register, and choose the technical identifier calmly. They're simple steps that prevent problems that can't be fixed later. And with Cabgo you can launch your own branded taxi app, with the name your city already recognises.
