App Innovator ‘Iluminando la Comunidad’ series brought to you by ComEd

By: Ashmar Mandou

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Local NewsHumboldt Park resident Victor Arellano introduced the city to one of the most innovate apps this past summer when his company, Snag Driven Solutions LLC., teamed up with Open Doors Organization (OCO) to renovate the city’s centralized dispatch for wheelchair accessible taxicabs.  The new partnership brought about, Open Taxis, which uses Snag technology that lets passengers use a mobile application on tablets and smartphones to ‘hail’ the closest taxi. 

“Not too bad for a company based in Humboldt Park,” said Victor Arellano, founder and CEO of Snag Driven Solutions LLC.  “It was real important for me and my wonderful team to stay rooted in our community so that the younger generation can be inspired to create even better technology.”

Arellano came up with the idea of the Snag app when he was sitting at a bar with a friend who couldn’t hail a cab.  “I thought aloud, ‘shouldn’t there be an app where you can find moving things like a cab near you in real time?’  Taking his idea back to his partners, who include Xavier Nogueras, partner and chief brand officer; Baxter Swilley, partner and chief operating officer; and Rahul Singhal, partner and chief technology officer, Arellano began work on brining his idea to fruition for people to use.  But if you think Arellano aggressively pursued his idea with the intent on getting money, you would be mistaken. 

“I didn’t do this for the money.  What motivated me is the belief that inner city Latinos need opportunities in order to succeed.  That is main reason why we stay here, in this community.  We could have easily set up shop in downtown, but it’s important for my team and me to stay here and inspire.  There is a lot of brilliance here in this community and people just need opportunities and others to help them.” 

Much more than just finding a cab near you, in the imminent future people will be able to Snag things in real time such as, ice cream trucks, food trucks, or street vendors right where they are.  The Snag app is available on both the Google and Apple platforms.

“Sometimes I’m still in disbelief.  People are using it and responding to it in very positive ways,” said Arellano.  “It’s amazing.” 

ComEd also has a mobile app. It makes it easy for customers to pay bills online, report outages and stay informed on when service will be restored. Download ComEd’s free mobile app today at ComEd.com/app.

ComEd also has a mobile app. It makes it easy for customers to pay bills online, report outages and stay informed on when service will be restored. Download ComEd’s free mobile app today at Es.ComEd.com/app.

 

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