Taxi companies, also referred to as cab-hailing or ride-sharing companies, are scraping in massive profits by disrupting the local taxi market. As per the CNBC Disruptors report, the cab-hailing applications were major disruptors in 2018. Today, online taxi booking software is on the rise providing an opportunity for drivers to mint more money whereas convenience and comfort of taxi transportation to passengers. But an important question that lingers is whether the driver or the passenger is more important for your taxi-hailing business?
Taxi Driver
A taxi or a cab driver is someone who is engaged in driving a taxi vehicle that is specifically used for public transportation. The driver usually works under a contract of service with a taxi service provider (employer). The taxi is used for the taxi service may be owned by the taxi driver or employer or as per the agreement between both.
Presently, a lot of taxi drivers operate cars, vans, SUVs, and limousines for carrying passengers from one location to another. They pick up passengers from a particular location, along with their luggage they might have, and drop them off at their destination in the most time-efficient and safest manner possible.
The organizations or employers the taxi and cab drivers work for are mostly independent taxi companies. Such companies may own a huge fleet of taxis or cabs and hire as many taxi drivers as required to the driver to drive their taxis. The taxi passengers make a request for a service using the taxi booking application installed on their smartphone. Taxi drivers receive the service request. Once they accept the request, they collect the passenger from designated place to drop them at their preferred destination. Taxi drivers then charge the passengers based on the distance traveled.
Some common responsibilities of taxi drivers involve the following:
- Inspecting vehicle condition and ensuring it functions well
- Connecting with dispatchers, taxi business owners, and passengers
- Collecting passengers and driving them to their destination
- Responding to accidents or emergencies in an appropriate manner
- Recording passenger rides, fares and working hours
While these are responsibilities a taxi driver is required to fulfill on a day-to-day basis, some essential qualities they are expected to have are:
- Location Familiarity – When recruiting a taxi driver, one of the prime quality you would expect is their familiarity with the local areas. They must possess a good amount of knowledge pertaining to the areas they need to visit. They must know the shortcuts to avoid areas with heavy traffic. This will help passengers get their destination quickly and efficiently.
- Punctuality & Reliability – This is another essential a driver needs to have. They must be able to pick up and drop off the passenger at the desired location at the right time. This requires a taxi business to hire developers with a good reputation for being both reliable and punctual.
- Good Communication – This is the key for drivers to ensure better customer service. The drivers should be able to engage passengers in positive, healthy discussion and freely ask for feedback.
- Passenger Safety – Safety is the prime-most concern for passengers when it comes to hailing a taxi. This requires you to look for drivers with right driver training and attitude who can ensure passengers’ safety.
- No Criminal Background – A thorough background check is of utmost significance when it comes to hiring a taxi driver. Ensure to hire a taxi driver with no criminal record and no major accidents. This, in turn, ensures that you are less likely to invite any danger or causalities to your passengers and business.
Taxi Passenger
In the digitized taxi business world, a taxi passenger is a person who seeks to or hails a taxi by a taxi-hailing application using their smartphone. As explained above, the passenger books a taxi from the white label taxi booking passenger app installed on their mobile phone to request for a ride. Once the driver arrives at the requested location, the passenger gets on the vehicle and the driver drives off to the destination.
Taxi-booking applications have gained immense popularity in recent years. It is due to the passengers that the taxi firms are minting billions of dollars in revenue today. The demand for such applications have increased tremendously and a major factor for its success is passenger service and satisfaction. A lot of taxi business and drivers make great efforts to ensure a pleasant passenger service and satisfaction. However, there have been instances where passengers turn out to be hard to deal with. In such a case, it becomes imperative to understand some characteristics both taxi service providers and drivers expect out of the passengers:
- Safety – Passengers are expected to ensure their own safety by wearing the seatbelts with or without being asked to do so.
- Keep Conversations Calm – When boarding a car, drivers are in a relaxed state of mind. Getting them worked up with negative or irritating conversations can lead to arguments, eventually deviating driver’s focus from effective driving.
- Intolerance for drunk/speedy driving – Passengers must never tolerate drivers driving at a high speed or even when they are drunk. This can likely cause fatal casualties.
- Pay the Fare – The functioning of the entire taxi-booking business and operation is reliant on the income accrued from the passengers. As a result, the passengers must pay a fair fare to the drivers after they have used the taxi service.
Who is More Important for Your Taxi Business?
Considering the points outlined above, it is safe to say that both taxi drivers and passengers are equally important for a taxi business. While a taxi passenger brings in revenue for your taxi business, a taxi driver is the one who operates your vehicles to make your business highly functional and serves passengers efficiently. Alongside, an online taxi booking software, both drivers and passengers act as pillars to your mobile-based taxi-booking business.
Who according to you is more important for a taxi-hailing business – driver or passenger? Please do share your views with us using the comments area below.
Author – Bio
Mushahid Khatri is a Chief Executive Officer of Yelowsoft which is one of the leading shuttle booking software. He believes in sharing his strong knowledge base with leaned concentration on entrepreneurship and business.