With regular snowfall becoming a less frequent occurrence in urban centres across Canada, most people can’t justify a seasonal plowing service. However, this country still knows how to surprise Canadians with the occasional massive snowfall once in a while, a fact a new made in Ottawa app called TouchPlow hopes to use to make its way onto as many Canadian smartphones as possible.
Taking a cue from Uber and so many other on-demand apps, TouchPlow allows users to connect with an independent snow cleaning service when they need it. Users input their credit card information ahead of time, and when they want the snow from their driveway to be removed, they hit the “Request a Plow” button, which connects them with a snow plow.
Pricing starts at $25 dollars, and in this app’s version of surge pricing, the cost of snow removal can quickly escalate depending on how soon after a snowstorm the user wants their driveway cleaned. Additional services like walkway cleaning also cost extra. All told, having your driveway cleaned through TouchPlow can climb to $50. Snow removers are required to take a picture of each driveway they clean to prove that they’ve completed the job. They must also licensed by the city they work in and be fully insured.
After their driveway has been cleaned, users can rate their snow remover, closing the loop.
Download TouchPlow from the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store. Being a recent arrival to app marketplaces, snow removers are still finding out about TouchPlow, so your experience with it may vary.
