A new app has finally had its UK launch after a successful trial in the south of England. miDrive aims to save learner drivers up to £300 in lessons by listing the most highly-rated instructors in their area, as well as helping new drivers track their movements using GPS.
The system could also benefit instructors, giving them a way to build their business through recommendations. In the same way that trade checker websites have forced tradesmen and women to deliver a higher quality service because they are being rated online by real customers, the new app could force driving instructors to up their game too.
The app has been developed by web developer Matt Sutton, and started out as ‘PassSmart’ – a searchable database of driver instructor profiles. It is now a successful app that has boosted the industry with an additional £2.3million worth of business, and tracked 15,000 miles of driving lessons performed in the south east (mainly in Kent). The app helps learners to find instructors who are experienced, successful and recommended by other learners.
Good for instructors too
It helps instructors to promote their business, and so far learners have booked more than 33,000 hours of lessons via the app. A total of 2,200 driving instructors have signed up to miDrive, and the developers hope that a UK-wide roll-out will now boost those numbers considerably. With nearly three-quarters of a million learner drivers in the UK, there is certainly plenty of room for development for the app.
As the app is based on recommendations, it will certainly raise the standards for driving instructors too, ensuring that they deliver a high quality service to all their pupils. Everything from the friendliness and calmness of the instructor through to the condition of the car, whether the instructor has the correct driving instructor insurance and their pass rate could be up for scrutiny. This is certainly a demonstration of how modern smart technology is having an impact on every aspect of our lives, including how we choose our driving instructor!