Flywheel
Flywheel is a taxi technology platform providing mobile e-hailing apps, cloud-based TaxiOS fleet management software, and ancillary services (payments, insurance, food delivery, safety hardware) for riders, drivers, fleet operators, and municipal transportation authorities.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersRedwood City, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Flywheel does
Flywheel is a taxi technology platform providing mobile e-hailing applications and cloud-based fleet management software to the regulated taxi industry. The company serves four primary customer segments: individual riders (via the Flywheel Ride App for iOS and Android), professional taxi drivers (via the Flywheel Driver App, DirectPay earnings disbursement, and tablet-based payment terminals), taxi fleet operators (via the TaxiOS platform for end-to-end fleet management), and municipal transportation authorities (via a regulatory data and subsidy management web application). Supplementary offerings address restaurants (Flywheel Foods flat-fee delivery), corporate accounts, and consumers (Flywheel Shield safety partitions and PPE supplies).
The company's core technology is TaxiOS, a cloud-based platform that replaces legacy taxi hardware with software-based metering, dispatching, and payment processing. Notable technical components include GPS-based e-hail matching, an Android tablet payment system integrated with PayPal Here for PCI-compliant non-cash collection (including paratransit and private-label cards), a Pair & Pay feature that enables street-hailed rides to be paid through the Flywheel ecosystem, and pioneering usage-based insurance enabled by per-mile telemetry captured across every ride. Partnerships span PayPal (payments), insurance carriers (UBI), Uber (2023 national taxi driver referral program), municipal transportation authorities including the New York MTA, and flagship customer DeSoto Cab which fully rebranded its San Francisco fleet as Flywheel Taxi.
Flywheel generates revenue through multiple streams: per-ride commissions on taxi transactions, B2B subscriptions for the TaxiOS fleet management platform, hardware sales (safety partitions and PPE at published price points), transaction-based fees from Flywheel Foods restaurant deliveries, and corporate account management services. The company's legal entity is Flywheel Software, Inc., incorporated in California. Following an April 2017 acquisition by CabConnect Technologies (a consortium of taxi industry fleet owners), the company has continued operations under the Flywheel brand across markets including San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Sacramento, Portland, Los Angeles, Houston, Washington D.C., Fort Lauderdale, Palm Springs, and Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Flywheel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Flywheel
- Legal name
- Flywheel Software, Inc.
- Website
- https://flywheel.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Flywheel is a taxi technology platform providing mobile e-hailing apps, cloud-based TaxiOS fleet management software, and ancillary services (payments, insurance, food delivery, safety hardware) for riders, drivers, fleet operators, and municipal transportation authorities.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Flywheel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Taxi dispatch and ride-hailing software
- NAICS
- Taxi and Ridesharing Services (48531), Taxi and Limousine Service (4853), Taxi and Ridesharing Services (485310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Taxi-Hail Aggregators & Dispatch Platforms (E-Hail for Licensed Taxis) (TLAFAIAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- E-Hailing Taxi Aggregators (Licensed Taxi Dispatch Platforms) (THADADAC), Ride-Hailing & Taxi Aggregation Platforms (BPAMAIAE), Ridesharing & Taxi Dispatch Platforms (BPAMAHAA), App-Based Taxi Operators (E-Hailing Taxi Fleets) (THADAEAC)
Keywords
Where Flywheel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Redwood City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices8 records
Markets served
Flywheel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Ride Transaction Fees: Flywheel charges transaction fees on taxi rides facilitated through their platform. Passengers pay regulated taxi fares set by local governments, and Flywheel takes a commission from each ride. The platform supports both app-booked rides and street-hailed cabs paid through Pair & Pay.
- Fleet Management Software & Services: B2B revenue from fleet operators subscribing to TaxiOS platform for driver management, dispatching, leasing, cashiering, and reporting. Also includes insurance partnerships through the UBI model.
- Hardware Sales: Sale of physical products including Flywheel Shield partitions ($34.99-$74.99), PPE supplies like masks (3-ply masks $321 for 2000 pcs, KN95 masks $556.49 for 1000 pcs), and taxi meter hardware.
- Food Delivery Services: Flat delivery fee per order regardless of distance for Flywheel Foods restaurant delivery service, bridging local restaurants with professional drivers.
- Corporate Account Management: Revenue from corporations managing employee logistics including rides, expensing, courtesy rides for clients, and reporting/invoicing services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Passenger Cancellation Fee |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Taxi Shield - Driver/Passenger Partition |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | PPE Supplies |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Restaurant Delivery Fee |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Flywheel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Flywheel develops and operates TaxiOS, a cloud-based taxi dispatch and management platform that connects riders, taxi drivers, fleet operators, government regulators, and corporate accounts through mobile apps and B2B software. Its core consumer offering lets riders e-hail the nearest available taxi from a vetted fleet, track it on GPS, and pay automatically, while drivers receive dispatch alerts and earnings disbursement via DirectPay. The platform layers on restaurant delivery (Flywheel Foods), usage-based taxi insurance partnerships, physical driver/passenger partitions (Flywheel Shield), and regulatory analytics dashboards for cities.
Product overview
Flywheel is a taxi technology platform providing a unified ecosystem of products for riders, drivers, businesses, and government agencies. The core offering includes the Flywheel Ride App for passenger e-hailing and the Flywheel Driver App, supported by the TaxiOS cloud-based platform that replaces traditional taxi hardware with software-based metering and payments. The platform extends through specialized modules including Flywheel for Business (fleet management, corporate accounts), Flywheel for Government (city transportation regulation and subsidy programs), and Flywheel Foods (restaurant delivery service). Supporting services include DirectPay (driver earnings disbursement), CardONE (prepaid/subsidized cards), Flywheel Insurance (usage-based insurance), and Flywheel Shield (driver-passenger safety barriers).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Flywheel Ride App Mobile application for riders to e-hail the closest available taxi, track cab location and ETA, pay automatically, and rate the driver. Available on iOS and Android.
- Flywheel Driver App Mobile application for taxi drivers to receive nearby pickup alerts, manage schedules, track earnings, and process non-cash payments via the integrated PayPal Here reader.
- TaxiOS (Flywheel for Business) Cloud-based technology platform that streamlines existing taxi infrastructure with hardware and software taxi meter and payment solutions, plus end-to-end fleet management (driver/vehicle management, dispatching, leasing, cashiering, reporting) and corporate account management.
- Flywheel for Government Government agency platform that provides regulators and city transportation authorities with data access, advanced analytics, trip search, subsidy program management, and paratransit card program oversight.
- Flywheel Foods Restaurant delivery platform that bridges local restaurants with licensed, insured, background-checked drivers, with real-time operations monitoring, driver matching, meal tracking, and a flat per-order delivery fee.
- Flywheel Shield Physical safety partition product that separates the driver and passenger compartments in taxis to mitigate in-cab health and safety risks. Sold in passenger and driver variants via the company e-commerce shop.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20% month-over-month growth during marketing campaign period
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Flywheel
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Flywheel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability2 records
Feature8 records
Flywheel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- DeSoto Cab (Flywheel Taxi)flagshipSan Francisco's oldest taxi company (82-year history) fully rebranded as 'Flywheel Taxi,' painting all their SF cabs with Flywheel branding. First company in California to pilot TaxiOS platform. Created unique market position as the only taxi-hailing app with a branded fleet of vehicles. Generated 400+ media articles on the rebrand.
- New York Transportation AssociationcoreTrial partnership for TaxiOS platform expansion into New York City - the nation's premier taxi market, approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
- Portland Taxi FleetscoreTaxi partnership deals secured in Portland following marketing campaign, expanding Flywheel's network presence.
- Los Angeles Taxi FleetscoreTaxi partnership deals secured in Los Angeles following marketing campaign, expanding Flywheel's network presence.
- PayPalcorePayPal Here reader integration enables drivers to collect non-cash payments from passengers when rides are not booked on the Flywheel app. Integrated with Flywheel's driver app on Android tablets.
- VSC (PR Agency)minorPR firm selected to help reinvigorate Flywheel and create competitive positioning against Uber/Lyft and other taxi-app competitors. Campaign generated 70% media coverage share.
- UbercoreMajor national partnership announced via PR Newswire for taxi driver referral program. Flywheel drivers receive hails from Uber app as part of integration between traditional taxis and ride-hailing platforms.
- Insurance Companies (UBI Partners)coreInsurance companies partnered with Flywheel to provide low-cost usage-based insurance (UBI) to fleet partners. Flywheel's accurate mileage tracking data for every mile driven enables variable pay-by-the-mile insurance rates.
- Recording Artists Against Drunk Driving (RADD)minorCollaboration to support transportation programs that secure safe transit of impaired drivers.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Flywheel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Gett: Ground transportation platform focused heavily on regulated taxi and corporate black-car supply. Gett competes for the same corporate-account and on-demand rider segments Flywheel serves.
- Uber: Largest ride-hailing platform in the US and a direct competitor for taxi ride supply and demand. Notably, Uber has a national taxi driver referral partnership with Flywheel, but Uber also competes for the same corporate, rider, and driver pools, making them both partner and competitor.
- Lyft: Second-largest US ride-hailing platform competing for the same rider demand and driver supply. Like Uber, Lyft targets the same point-to-point urban mobility trips that Flywheel serves via licensed taxis, though Flywheel differentiates through regulated fares and vetted drivers.
- Curb Mobility: Taxi-hailing and dispatch platform (formerly Taxi Magic and Curb) that connects riders with licensed taxis across major US cities. Curb overlaps almost entirely with Flywheel's core e-hail and taxi-payments offering.
- Hailo: Original taxi-hailing app competitor that was a peer to Flywheel in the licensed-taxi e-hail category before consolidating into myTaxi/Free Now. Direct overlap in technology, target customer (licensed cabs), and pricing structure.
- Arro: App-based taxi dispatch and payment platform operating across multiple US cities, directly overlapping with Flywheel's TaxiOS-powered fleet and rider e-hail experience.
Broad incumbents
- Free Now (formerly myTaxi): Multi-mobility taxi and ride-hailing aggregator backed by BMW and Daimler, operating across European markets. Comparable as a licensed-taxi aggregation platform with comparable rider and fleet SaaS offerings.
- Conduent: Large-scale transportation and payment services vendor that supplies taxi payment, dispatch, and regulatory technology to agencies. Comparable through overlap with Flywheel's government and fleet tech offerings, but at broader portfolio scale.
- Waymo: Autonomous mobility service operating in select US cities with point-to-point passenger service. Comparable as an alternative urban mobility platform targeting the same rider trips, though with autonomy rather than licensed-driver positioning.
Emerging players
- Via Transportation: On-demand shared mobility platform serving transit agencies and enterprise clients. Comparable in B2B/government sales motion and trip-dispatch technology, though focused on pooled transit rather than licensed taxi e-hail.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Flywheel social profiles
Digital presenceFlywheel compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Flywheel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Flywheel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Flywheel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds7 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Flywheel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Flywheel
What does Flywheel do?
Flywheel develops and operates TaxiOS, a cloud-based taxi dispatch and management platform that connects riders, taxi drivers, fleet operators, government regulators, and corporate accounts through mobile apps and B2B software. Its core consumer offering lets riders e-hail the nearest available taxi from a vetted fleet, track it on GPS, and pay automatically, while drivers receive dispatch alerts and earnings disbursement via DirectPay. The platform layers on restaurant delivery (Flywheel Foods), usage-based taxi insurance partnerships, physical driver/passenger partitions (Flywheel Shield), and regulatory analytics dashboards for cities.
Is Flywheel a public or private company?
Flywheel is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Flywheel founded?
Flywheel was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Flywheel based?
Flywheel is headquartered in Redwood City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Flywheel make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Ride Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are fleet Management Software & Services, hardware Sales, food Delivery Services and corporate Account Management.
Who are Flywheel's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Gett, Uber, Lyft, Curb Mobility, Hailo and Arro. Broad incumbents are Free Now (formerly myTaxi), Conduent and Waymo. Via Transportation is listed as an emerging player.
Does Flywheel have an API?
No public API is recorded for Flywheel.
What industry is Flywheel in?
Flywheel's product category is Taxi dispatch and ride-hailing software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLAFAIAD, Taxi-Hail Aggregators & Dispatch Platforms (E-Hail for Licensed Taxis), with a secondary code of THADADAC, E-Hailing Taxi Aggregators (Licensed Taxi Dispatch Platforms). Its NAICS code is 48531.