We first met Kieran Farr because of his blog about the Taxi Industry.
In his latest post, he talks about his experience as the first driver to be hailed by someone using Cabulous on the iPhone.
Kieran has been helping UpStart Mobile really get inside what cab drivers want – and what they don’t want – in a smartphone-based hailing system. His ideas have made a huge difference to the quality and features of Cabulous.
Thanks Kieran.
This is the first time Cabulous was used to catch a real taxi.
The passenger was at Marina and Divisadero in San Francisco, spotted Cabulous driver Kieran Farr driving across town in the financial district and hailed with Cabulous. Kieran accepted the hail, and was able to see the passenger walking up to Lombard street. The cab and passenger met at Chestnut street.
The best part of the experience was how being able to confidently walk around and being able to see each other the entire time made the relatively long distance between hail and pick up location seem very short. Passenger didn’t have to wait in one spot wondering where the driver was, and the driver saw where the the passenger was walking… And saved four blocks in gas,thanks to the passenger walking towards the driver.
Catching a taxi can be a frustrating experience – first, not knowing where the nearest cab might be, and then waiting blindly wondering when (or if) it will arrive. Worse is the frustration of a driver responding to a call and arriving to find the passenger has already taken another cab.
UpStart Mobile’s new product, Cabulous™ is the first location-based solution that enables both passengers and drivers to see exactly where each other are in real time, from hail to pick-up. Customers can see all the nearest available drivers on their smartphone, then hail one with a single touch. Once hailed, the driver sees on his smartphone exactly where the passenger is, even if the passenger walks down the block or around a corner.
There are over six million commercial drivers, losing over $5 billion annually on downtime and no-shows. Cabulous reduces no-shows by creating a visual link between driver and passenger. It reduces downtime by increasing the chance a driver will be spotted and hailed while driving, even through low-density areas. And because Cabulous is the first to capitalize on the explosion in drivers’ personal smartphone adoption this year (over 30% and climbing), passengers can not only spot a cab, but they can track their favorite individual drivers, increasing customer loyalty.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Subscribe
Embed