How Taxi Cab Companies Can Stand Out from Competitors
With Uber and many of the other ride-sharing apps finally increasing their prices, taxi companies from all over can once again compete. With prices the same you can automatically start appealing to customers outside of Uber or Lyft simply because your drivers are trained, licensed, and monitored. Add in a few additional features and you can truly start to stand out from the competition and bring in a new wave of happy passengers.
Though not extensive, these tips are great places to start. Add the features and work to build a loyal customer base that then expands to accommodate all passengers in your area.
Go Fully Electric
The climate crisis is only picking up speed and with that comes more headlines and more everyday people wanting to do what they can to make things better. This means that there are more people than ever who would make the specific choice to book a fully electric taxi or at least a hybrid over other options. There are even cab hailing apps like Bolt that exclusively connect passengers with electric taxi options. You don’t have to toss out your entire fleet to get started, either. When it’s time to expand or upgrade a taxi, look for electric taxis for sale. You can often buy them direct from the factory for greater savings. Use this vehicle as one of your flagship options when marketing your business.
Offer Carpooling Services
Carpooling is a popular option, but it will never reach its full potential when contained to friends or co-workers. Instead, you can offer carpooling services from, for example, one city to another. Let people buy and book their seats and pick them up directly in the mornings for work. It’s a shared private car hire service that can also help the environment and, better yet, it’s a service not commonly offered.
There are several taxi apps that connect passengers with licensed drivers. These may be private drivers or city drivers, but the difference from these sorts of apps to the likes of Uber is that it is designed for licensed professionals.
Though you will eventually want to get off these apps entirely, they are a good place to start while you develop your own app and establish a loyal customer base of your own.
Develop Your Own App
While you will likely also use apps like Free Now that connect passengers with licensed drivers in their city, you may also want to consider developing your own app. This keeps all the fees, costs, and profits in-house. Not only that but there are many ways that you can even improve the customer experience.
Developing your own app is, of course, more for cab company fleets than individual drivers.
A few ideas on how you can make your app help your business stand out from the competition is to make the trip customisable. A few preferences can go a long way. For example, if a passenger is traveling with a young child let them select whether or not their cab has a carrier. By knowing this in advance you can supply your driver with what they need to go above and beyond for your customer.
Other preferences can include whether they want the ride silent or not, or even what radio station they want on when they get in the cab.
Offer Multiple Payment Options
If customers can pay the way they prefer, then you will automatically be able to appeal to the widest customer-base. Allow people to pay with debit or credit, with cash, through the app, through PayPal, or any other option. This way your passengers can pay you the way they feel most comfortable with.
Whatever payment option they offer, provide a receipt. Often passengers can claim back their taxi ride through their company or even on their taxes, so offering a simple receipt option can help give them the option.
Encourage Partnerships
Offer special deals to passengers who need your services on a regular basis. For example, if they always get off late on a certain day and need to hail a taxi, then you can offer a slightly discounted deal if they hire you in advance for the month.
These partnerships can help you increase the amount of regular income you can expect, and it can be accomplished with both private passengers or with companies themselves. Knowing that you will have at least some regular income can help you plan your expenses more accurately. Organize your day around the pickup so you can further expand your income.
