There’s one thing that 80% of people want when it comes to taxi: they want it right away. With that in mind, it should be a simple thing to delight your customers. Should. But simple doesn’t always mean easy.
Alternative user interfaces to improve service
Some like apps. Apps are cool. They can be simple. And they are always on the go. There’s also a drawback: when you begin to collect various convenient apps to hail a taxi, your phone screen gets cluttered with various apps and boom, there goes the simplicity and convenience.
Different taxi companies, fleets and dispatchers have already jumped into IoT button bandwagon to improve taxi service and make hailing a ride quicker and easier.
How push-button system makes hailing a cab easier
Let’s look at three different stakeholders and the benefits a push-button ordering system has for them:
- Businesses
- Taxi companies
- Taxi users
1. A push button makes car-ordering for customers less of a hassle
Yellow Checker Star Transportation, Whittlesea Blue Cab, Henderson Taxi and Desert Cab teamed up to operate a universal dispatch system. The system uses an internet-connected button called “Kabit” placed at participating businesses.
An employee at the business presses the Kabit, which is hooked up directly to the internet and an order goes into the dispatch centre. The computer system at the dispatch centre then sends notification to the closest cabdriver that a customer is waiting to be picked up.
There’s no need to make a phone call to the dispatch centre which eliminates the waiting time. Kabit button has feedback lights to indicate patron when the order is processing.
In a Government Technology magazine article, Jonathan Schwartz of Yellow Checker Star says that:
“More than 200 businesses, including the National Atomic Testing Museum, Range 702 and Eaglerider Motorcycle Rentals, have had the button placed in the first three months of the program, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
People absolutely love it,” Schwartz said. “They like the fact that when a customer asks them to order a cab, they don’t have to waste their time getting on the phone, going through dispatch. They literally have to touch the button, that’s it. It’s that simple.”
Simply put, push-button makes car-ordering less of a hassle for businesses. It saves time while serving customers better. Not bad for a little button.
“We’re competing every single day with Uber, and this is just another way we can compete and get people a cab as fast as possible”
2. Push button ordering is levelling out the playing field for taxi companies
With the push button ordering system, taxi companies are finally levelling out the playing field against ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft.
In a News3LV article, Cab Driver Lee McKiernan says he likes Kabit because orders come directly to them:
“We know that it’s ours (the customer), we know that it’s coming to us directly. We don’t have to worry about another company picking it up,” said McKiernan.
In Government Technology article, Jonathan Schwartz of Yellow Checker Star Transportation company describes the benefits of Kabit:
“The significance of this is that we’re not competing with each other anymore,” Schwartz said. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure the customer is serviced as fast as possible.”
The next step in the program is to expand the use of the buttons to more businesses, tie a mobile app to the system and add more cab companies, Schwartz said.
“We’re competing every single day with Uber, and this is just another way we can compete and get people a cab as fast as possible,” he said. “We have an open invitation to any other cab companies which want to join.”
Moreover, companies using such push-button ordering systems collect all orders from that location ultimately winning rides from competitors. Not a bad side benefit.
3. A push button offers instant gratification for taxi users
The most important is saved for last – the actual taxi users. Their benefit is very simple and straightforward: they get what they want. Taxi right away. Instant gratification.
What’s more to ask?
If you got interested in Kabit buttons and wish to find out more, make sure to visit Kaptyn Inc.
