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How one Manchester taxi firm is keeping up with global companies like Uber
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... p-15688940
The Arshad family behind StreetCars - Sam, Humara, Naeem, Aqeel and Naveed (Image: Manchester Evening News)
StreetCars looks after 10,000 corporate clients, including Manchester City Council and Northern Rail - many of which they acquired when rival local firms shut down
The way people book and interact with taxis has changed drastically over the past decade.
With the arrival of global tech disputers such as Uber, which launched in Manchester three years ago, there has inevitably been large consequences for private hire firms in the city.
But one Manchester-headquartered firm has been growing year-on-year despite the influx of online competition.
StreetCars is one of the largest private hire operators in the UK.
The family business has grown steadily since its launch in 2002, operating in more than 200 cities nationally with plans to launch in Spain next year.
When Uber arrived, StreetCars had 350 drivers in the city. It now has 600 drivers and is aiming to grow this to 800 by the end of 2019.
For StreetCars, the largest chunk of their revenue comes from corporate accounts, and they have been successful in securing a number of deals across the UK.
The company looks after 10,000 corporate clients, including Manchester City Council and Northern Rail - many of which they acquired when rival local firms shut down.
Humara Arshad, accounts director at StreetCars, said: “There used to be three major taxi companies in the city; Manchester Cars, Radio Cars and StreetCars. But they’re all gone.
“Many customers left with the arrival of Uber, but we’ve taken a lot of corporate clients."
“We had to change our business plan,” added operations director, Aqeel Arshad.
The company has recently hit back against Uber’s surge charge in a recent marketing campaign, which won an award at the 2018 Professional Driver QSI awards.
StreetCars created a video in which a character named Surge shows up when a taxi is ordered and ruins the situation.*
Aqeel Arshad said: "The entire concept of surging prices is based on taking advantage of people when they need something the most.
"This is not just as mundane as prices surging on a Saturday night outside McDonald's, this has real word effects on vulnerable people. Terrorist attacks and natural disasters, thousands waiting after a festival stuck in the middle of the night… Surge is indiscriminate.
"Uber creates a false economy by driving prices down, but as soon as the demand is there they capitalise on the need by taking advantage of the needy.
"That is how they can afford to have such low fares as their base rates, because their game plan is exploitation in plain sight."
According to StreetCars, one advantage that they have over Uber is that they are local and quick to sign up for local schemes, charity projects and other initiatives in the city.
On the night of the Manchester Arena bombing in 2016, StreetCars gave free lifts to anyone affected by the incident; helping emergency services to clear the area and get people home.
It is the official partner of the student union, offering a safe taxi scheme to students from the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and University of Salford.
Through the scheme, if students find themselves with no money to pay for a taxi home, they can simply show their student ID to the driver who will pass the name on to the Union and the student can pay at a later date.
Bosses at the firm recently met with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to discuss the Clean Air Intitative and are now making the company more sustainable; adding 150 hybrid vehicles and refusing to take on any high emission cars.
Image: Manchester Evening News
They are also working with Mr Burnham on a reformation of the licensing laws.
Currently, drivers can go to any of the boroughs in Greater Manchester. However, each of the boroughs have varying levels of standards for drivers and vehicles which can create issues.
The hope is to create a Greater Manchester License which covers all 10 boroughs through TFGM, mirroring the system used by TFL in London.
The company prides itself on innovation and was the first company in Manchester to introduce app and online bookings, card payment facilities in cars, driver uniforms and door stickers on their vehicles.
However, although their app has been available for 10 years, the company still finds that most people are unaware that they have one.
Humara said: “When it comes to technology we’ve always been ahead of the game, but obviously with international companies coming in, they've got the marketing budget to promote it.
“When [Uber] first started with the £10 referrals they could spread the word, but we couldn’t do that because we’re a family business.”
For their latest innovation, StreetCars is currently working on a new AI programme that could revolutionise the way customers book taxis.
They are working with taxi service provider Autocab to develop a Facebook bot that works out when people might need a taxi, interact with the customer and book a car for them if needed.
The bot will use algorithms to track conversations in Facebook messenger, so when people are discussing making plans to go out for dinner or make a trip to the cinema, it would send them a message to ask if that person would like to book a taxi.
The bot is currently being trialled in Manchester with plans to roll out across the country.
Aqeel said: “We don’t wait for things to happen. If you don’t adapt and change, if you’re not going to try and be innovative, you won’t succeed.
“We’re not scared of competition, competition is good for us.”
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*Visit the webpage to view the video, although if you're like me it won't load in Internet Explorer, so have to use Chrome to actually view it (which is also why I can't provide a direct link to the video).
Anyway, by the looks of the couple on the video, surge pricing probably a good thing to keep them apart
