A recent article in the Harvard Business Review called “The Taxi Industry Can Innovate, Too”, by Rafi Mohammed, made great point of how the taxi industry can reinvent itself to better compete against ridesharing services. Rafi suggests that reduced regulation, emphasis on differentiation, and taxi apps are essential to this new transformation.
Evidence of reduced regulation being successful can be seen from recent legislation passed in the District of Columbia. May Cheh, a member of the D.C. Council, leveled the playing field for ridesharing services and taxis by changing outdated regulations. Instead of demonizing ridesharing services or resisting calls for changes to the taxi industry, D.C. encourages a free market where taxi insurance is affordable, taxi medallions are non-existent, and ridesharing services have to follow a simple legal framework for operation. This market-friendly environment of co-existence is critical for future stability of the taxi industry in cities around the nation.
Rafi thinks that taxi companies need to emphasize their differentiation from ridesharing services. For example, he explains how most ridesharing drivers are too reliant on GPS navigation which can sometimes cause the driver to take unnecessary turns or longer routes compared to taxi drivers who usually have enough experience where they are able to easily navigate the roads through memory. TaxiTapp emphasizes differentiation for users by providing multiple options for taxi selection whether it be taxi fare, taxi distance from location, or taxi ratings comparison.
Finally, taxi applications for the taxi industry are a required tool for the modern age as demand increases. They allow taxis to become more efficient and competitive. Luckily, mobile applications like TaxiTapp will help pioneer this tool for the taxi industry in the near future.
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