Taxi Driver Online

It is not about Uber v City cars or Edinburgh council or taxi trade.

Apps are here. Apps and technology wins every time. VFM! Apps are cheap as chips, radios are costly and outdated.

Every single problem posted above is easily sorted. If one app doesn't do it the next one will. Driver or punter can use either app at any time.

Punters just want a taxi and will use four phone apps at a time much. Press button and take the first cab.
Want to cancel and keep the app functional just press cancel and the other three drivers get instant notification.
Drivers just want a hire and have four apps on their smartphone that cost nothing.
Lost that 50p a hire job, no worries it was cancelled and I get my 50p back! Might as well take the 20% job!

Customer loyalty to radio circuits?,
tell that to the fourteen yr old who is yet to every hail a taxi! who loads up his granny's phone just like when he introduced her to mobiles.
Tell it to the driver who has a costly radio and four cheap apps giving him jobs. Run for that radio job or take the app job. ( apps use location services so all go to the nearest driver - instantly)

Account work? Apps giving the company bean counter an electronic receipt for an electronically measured fare, with a loyalty bonus from the app provider. No brainier!

Apps take all cards and /or cash to driver.

Apps are global or at least national companies to the taxi trade - high volume low cost businesses.
No need for local offices as each booking is effectively an electronic street hail.

Apps are the demise of the Radio circuit not the taxi trade. Possibly the trades salvation.

PH will probably still need a booking office and it's licence as they should not take direct bookings from customers, hence Uber application.
Taxi trade might consider that - I did mention the app ability to use location services- PH apps can monitor and restrict bookings depending on location of driver and customer!

That's a fair post Cabhappy and I agree with almost all you have written except for "Possibly the trades salvation."

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All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

The obvious difference between the UK and the rest of Europe is that we have a two tier form of licensing.

The comparisons between UBER operating in the UK and then Europe and the US unfair. The simple matter is that UBER must be licensed in the UK as an operator - it is lawfully doing this.

The forthcoming deregulation bill in England allows for the transference of private hire work across borders - in many respects this will aid uber as currently they would have to accept the cost of setting up an office in every district.

Whoever is advising them in the UK needs sacked - because the way I see it they're currently wasting their money as the offices will be redundant within months.

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Yeah but the competition is changing and from the punters perspective. It is fast becoming technology companies and competing apps and not Hack companies or Ph competing against each other. I think eventually Taxi/Ph companies with local offices, will for the most part become obsolete. You simply wont need them.

_________________
All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

I think your partially right - however when you look across the board a lot of our customers are elderly - it will be some time before all customers wish to use apps, whilst of coursed, kids love apps and kids are the future.

Indeed, the advantage of local companies is you've got someone to complain to if things go wrong.

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Yeah but at what point does a local taxi/Ph company lose its viability? There has to be a tipping point.

_________________
All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

Offices are expensive to run and they need staff.

The difficulty I have with UBER is that the initial business they will take will be from PH offices - in effect what we see happening is the taxi trade fighting the PH Operators battle - I cannot understand this.

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Yeah in the short term but as apps gain in popularity, it's an app on your phone and a vehicle arrives to take you to your destination. There is no Taxi or Ph company just an app, delivering a service to a punter similar to ordering a book from a global company such as Amazon.

Technology wins and the Luddites lose - the End.

_________________
All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

Technology will win - but the cab trade has grasped technology over the years

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Yes, they have dabbled with technology but that's not the same a being a technology company providing a service directly to the customer.

What do taxi drivers know about technology platforms other than pressing a button on a screen?

Is City Cabs, CRT or ECPH going to set themselves up as a technology company developing phone app technology and supply it directly to the customer? I don't think so.

_________________
All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

The thing with all technology platforms is they still need someone to physically drive the vehicle and without that someone the platform is useless.

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Yeah but you said it yourself, you don't need an office or a radio and they are very expensive to run. All you need is an app on your phone. The app replaces the need for a company office because the technology takes over from the manual participation or group sharing activities to run a taxi/ph company office. It's all handled by computer.

Oh and there will always be someone to drive a vehicle, the driver is almost incidental.

_________________
All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

and who's to say taxis wont adapt?

the same rules apply to taxis

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Yes, but the only thing left to replace with technology is the driver.

_________________
All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"

and that's next

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28551069

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin