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
No comments:
Post a Comment