Sunday, September 22, 2013

Taxi Apps- The Good ,The Bad, and The Ugly



                                 


Uber and Hailo exploit traditional Taxi service Customer Dissatisfaction with Taxi Apps

Smart phone and taxi apps has made it possible for people in cities such as Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco to hail a taxi or request black car service at the touch of a button. Customers can see the exact location of their dispatched taxi or black car in real-time. Black car service drivers greet their customer with a smile;they offer bottled water and are well-groomed. Their cars are clean. Traditionally, Prior to smart phone app companies entering the market, Taxi and black car services were segregated markets. The difference between these services is the price you'll pay. I have been driver and fleet owner for over ten years. I would hear my customers say taking a taxi was at best a crap shoot. People will pay 15-20% more for better services especially if they know their livelihood depended on being in a specific place,at a specific time.


A lack of discipline and poor job performance in the taxi industry has created a market opportunity for Uber and Hailo.

The average driver typically works 12-14 hours per day, seven-day per week. Their compensation for an eight four-hour work week is about $28,000 per year if they rent a car from a company. In addition to the low pay versus the hours worked per week, taxi drivers work in all kinds of inclement weather and are subject to being robbed or severely injured if they have an auto accident. Now you may have some understanding of why drivers may not greet every passenger with a smile. However this is no excuse for poor customer service but the working conditions and lack of discipline of drivers by taxi companies have given the taxi industry a less that sterling reputation with the public in cities across America. The industries customer dissatisfaction with service has opened a door of opportunity for entrepreneurial based taxi and limo app companies such as Uber and Hailo


Uber and Hailo are benefiting from near almost perfect market conditions. More than 60% of Americans have smart phones enabled with GPS and can facilitate processing a credit card transaction. Fewer young people are getting driver's licenses. Climate-change environmentalists are discouraging private ownership of cars. Taxi services have developed a tarnished reputation in many places. At its worst, the cabbie stereotype is an image of a sloppy dressed man in a sooty car who constantly talks on the phone while drivings , demands cash payment and takes you the long way to raise your fare. According to Kathy Steinmetz, there were approximately 8,000 complaints made to New York City's taxi and limousine commission from May2013 this year, more than 60% involve driver behavior, including being discourteous to customers, and refusing to accept or process a credit card. That's in addition to the 20% of complaints that were filed about unsafe driving.




Taxi Apps such a Uber and Hailo seem to be a good idea but exploit the driver and customer.

When you use Uber in Boston here is a breakdown of the taxi fees and distribution to the driver:
$13.00 is charged to clients credit card(Uber automatically calculates this:$10 fare* 20% gratuity *$1 taxi fee)
  • Driver Makes $10 (the entire Fare)
  • Driver takes 10% of fare for tip( $1.00)
  • Uber takes 10% of the fare as a fee ($1.00) &pays credit card processing at 2%
  • Uber makes Taxi Fee of ($1.00)
App based companies skim part of the driver's tip to pay for marketing and credit card processing, which they either do in-house or have an affiliate company do at less than 2% per transaction. In this example , the transaction structured at this rate gives the company is 15 % of the gross revenue.

It's the driver that makes the company what it is in terms of its business reputation in the community and that's why taxi apps are a good idea. Tap Your Taxi is once such app that can complement a cab companies current business model.

Tap you taxi is an app for the taxi industry like no other. Tap Your Taxi entered the Atlanta market just one year ago. Drivers love it. It easy for customers to use and they don't share their credit card or personal information with anybody except the driver.. Each driver is a licensed taxi driver in the city you request service.



History of the Tap Your Taxi App and its Development


The concept of this app came from two brothers,Eddie and Jimmy Grose. They grew up in a family owned taxi business in Atlanta and this was the inspiration for the development of their taxi app. Both brother agree it's the driver that makes the company and this app helps drivers earn extra fares using GPS smart phone technology. It doesn't threaten any established taxi companies business model and it is very affordable. In fact for customers its free and for driver they pay a nominal yearly subscription fee.


Uber and Hailo collect your personal information from their taxi and black car apps

The buzz word is data mining. However its no secret that both companies harvest your personal information I believe it is beyond the necessary information required to process a ride request. Each company has a web based privacy policy. On Hailo's privacy policy  it clearly says “we provide you with marketing communications about our products and services and those of third parties which we think may be of interest to you”. Uber privacy policy has similar wording in their privacy policy statement. Do you need someone collecting data about you and then reselling it to marketing firms? They send you information about a third parties products free of charge to you. However, the business they are promoting is paying a fee. Who know better what your interest are than you?


In contrast to Uber and Hailo's Apps, Tap Your Taxi's  privacy  policy  is  easy to read.. The company doesn’t send offers of interest to you from third parties. All of the drivers are professional and none of your credit card or personal information is stored, repackaged or shared with anyone.



Taxi apps that don't share customer's information and doesn't take 15% of a drivers gross wages is definitely a good idea. If your looking for a taxi app that treats a driver fairly and doesn't share your credit card or personal information, Tap Your Taxi is the right App for you. Mover over Uber and Hailo. Tap You Taxi races to the front of the crowded taxi app market with first class technology and respect for customer privacy. Get your free download on CNET today! You may also download the app from our taxi supply website. Have a look today



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