Cool... the first on-demand ride-pooling service in Malta

Cool is the first on-demand ride-pooling service in Malta, offering passengers the chance to share their ride with fellow travellers heading in the same direction.

The young company offers a corner-to-corner service: passengers are  picked up from the nearest street corner and then dropped off on the nearest corner to the indicated destination.

This saves time in pickups and drop-offs, ensuring that trip times are comparable to those of standard taxis, even when sharing with multiple passengers.

Those wanting to book a ride need to download the Cool app from AppStore or GooglePlay, register a new account and choose a payment method.

To get started, a credit/debit card and mobile number are needed.

The passengers then chooses a starting location and destination. Once the booking is completed, the app will select the closest pick-up point and guide the rider to it with its in-built map feature.

The pick-up point will usually be the closest street corner, just a few hundred meters away from the passenger.

It’s also possible to book a pick-up for multiple passengers. In this case, the price of each additional guest is 50% of the price of an individual ticket.

The drivers will typically arrive within a few minutes, and are instructed to wait for only 90 seconds.

To help make sure passengers don’t miss the ride booked, the app provides a countdown for the ride’s arrival. Passengers also receive  a couple of notification texts, first when the ride is two minutes away and then again when it arrives at the pick-up point.

Cool vehicles currently operstein Attard, Balzan, Birguma, Birkirkara, Blata l-Bajda, Floriana, Gharghur, Gwardamangia, Gzira, Hamrun, Ibragg, Iklin, Imriehel, Kappara, Lija, Madliena, Marsa, Msida, Swatar, Swieqi, Paceville, Pembroke, Pieta, Qormi, San Gwann, Sliema, St. Julians, St. Venera, Ta Xbiex, and Valletta.