Many cab firms are well-known in their local area, where they've served for years. Advertising and marketing typically focus on local newspapers, local radio and distribution of business cards and leaflets. This is effective for generating work originating in the local area, but what about work from places out of area that terminates near base?
If a cab firm could take work from places far away and return back to their local area, they would. Drivers would be happy and in turn the taxi company owners would benefit because their drivers are busy.
In many cases a small local High Wycombe taxi company (for example) would charge less to collect a passenger from London and return to base than a London firm would for the same job. Although the High Wycombe firm would typically be more competitive for this route, the commercial reality of advertising for such work would require canvassing the nation in cards and leaflets for jobs that happen to terminate near base. This is clearly not practical or economically viable.
If the pick-up and drop-off points are far apart, it's likely that a driver with a job leaving base will return with an empty vehicle, which is inefficient and wasteful. A number of websites have admirably tried to reduce the waste caused by dead legs but nobody has made a success of it yet.
What about the risks of an out of area pick-up? For example, no Manchester taxi driver wants to collect a passenger in Birmingham for cash and suffer a no-show, as the consequence of a no-show is wasted time and fuel and, of course, no fare. It's therefore essential to take the fare in advance by card when picking up passengers out of area.
If used intelligently, Cabubble's innovative taxi booking system allows cab firms to take work safely that's prepaid by credit or debit card from all parts of the UK, returning back to base.
Posted by jason on 29 Jan 2016.
Tagged: cab-firm, no-show, prepayment, out-of-area. Article: link.