Taxi Service Research:
Business Class or Standard. Is there a difference?

One of the quarantine measures introduced all over the world was the prohibition of public transport services. Many governments have banned all long-distance routes, including those by rail, as well as underground. In such circumstances, taxis are the only way to make a ride when it is necessary. Therefore, taxis are not a privilege but a necessity at the moment. 

Good taxi service has a large fleet of cars, which includes different classes of cars. Therefore, a client has an opportunity to select a car that will suit his purposes the best. If you need a car for everyday use to get to the office or to the hospital quickly, the standard cars are the right option. And if you need to effectively show up at an event or to impress a business partner, then choose luxury or representative class cars.

One of our clients decided to inspect the service he provided with the business class taxi cars. Expectation and reality: whether the level of service met the specific client needs. Was the premium tariff really worth its advantages, or was it just an ordinary service at the overpriced rate?

We have conducted research in two Eastern-European countries and identified the main criteria that play a role in choosing a business taxi, and which the companies must comply with in order to ensure comfortable and pleasant trip for their customers.

• Car Delivery.

Taxis are taken as a personalized type of travel – that is what people expect. If I need it urgently, and if it is promised to be there – any mismatches here would lower my loyalty and satisfaction significantly. If I order a taxi of a higher class than usual, I expect a higher level of service.

8 minutes is the time the taxi was delivered to the client, counting from the time of order till the time of car arrival. And this is quite a good result.

But! In 98% of cases, there is no driver’s photo in the application. This fact is considered as negative. First of all, it confuses a client as he doesn’t know how a driver will look like. Secondly, and perhaps it is the most important thing, a client wants to feel safe. For business class, the availability of driver’s photos should be a mandatory point. After all, we rarely trust a profile with no photo.

• Driver’s Accuracy.

When you pay more – you expect more. When it comes to businessmen and women, time is crucial, if the car arrives at the wrong location, it influences the satisfaction level drastically.

Our study has shown that in 83% of cases the car was accurately delivered to where it was indicated.

Another positive moment is that in 98% of cases a driver could be reached by phone: his mobile number was provided in the application, and the driver was available via the number indicated.

In 71% of cases, a driver clarifies the direction when departing. An ordinary thing at first sight, in reality, excludes a very crucial risk of arriving to the wrong address. 

• Car Appearance and comfort inside.

With the background of safety issues in the taxi field, any inconsistency between the information provided in the app and the reality strikes in the core of loyalty, especially for women. When ordering a taxi, I want it to be different from public transport, I want it to be my ‘space’.

The main rule on which the trust of clients is based is the conformity of the car number. In 100% of cases, the car number indicated in the application was the same. Also, in almost all the cases a car exterior was clean and there were no extraneous and unpleasant odor inside. 

But! In 70% of cases, there were driver’s belongings in a car. This caused discomfort due to the presence of extra items. The respondents had the impression that they were given a lift by chance, and not as if they ordered a car with the top-level service.

• Personal comfort and safety.

Regardless of the taxi class, traffic rules are an absolute must and are to be followed by everyone. Higher rates imply also a higher comfort level – nothing should be distracting or extra for the client.

In 86% of cases, a driver did not force his conversation on anyone. But 14% of respondents were dissatisfied with excessive communication with the driver.

One of the rigid points that taxi drivers of luxury cars should comply with is a dress code, and it was followed in 72% of cases.

ONLY 58% of drivers were fastened! This figure speaks for itself, about half of the drivers under examination violate basic safety rules when driving!

In 50% of cases, the passengers were disturbed by extraneous sounds of the navigation device. A GPS navigator is very comfortable and even necessary equipment in our time, but when a person needs to make an important call on the way, a loudly speaking gadget becomes an obstacle.

As a result of the study, we see the following trend:

N – not good:

71% of drivers made sure the passenger was comfortable — the indicator has worsened.

91% of drivers were distracted by the phone! This indicator has increased compared to the first check.

S – stability:

98% of passengers said that there was a charger provided in a taxi.

V – very good:

89% of drivers helped passengers with the door (which is 8% more cases than before).

The presence of extraneous sounds during the trip decreased to 32% (-18%).

In 19% of cases, the bottles of water are now provided in the salon (+7%).

Our research on taxi service has shown that in most cases business taxis meet the declared service. But there’s a lot to grow up and look for a competitive advantage. There is a room for service improvement with minimal financial investment.  

In our realities taxi services can supply not only the opportunity for a ride. Here is the list of our advice for the companies providing passenger transportation services :

1. Create safe conditions for your customers — a physical distance between a driver and passenger: you can install a special partition or suggest the clients take the back seat only.
2. Cooperate with retailers who now suffer even greater losses, you can be useful to each other.
3. Introduce a separate car subclass oriented for delivery only.
4. Spread information about all newly initiated services through your digital channels, let people know that you’ve secured not only yourself but also your customers.
5. Launch online services. Create more possibilities for your drivers and clients to exchange their experience. It can be a group in social networks, sections for the review on-site, or in the app. 

So, you can see that without modern software, it’s no longer possible to develop a taxi service. Then all you have to do in the current situation is to choose the right taxi service program that allows you to perform maximum functions. 

Quarantine is another reason to think about expanding your options. If you are not sure how to exploit climate, explore undiscovered areas. We can help you with that!

Even during the period of self-isolation, the digital world continues to develop, and we have already become its part! Stay tuned, be healthy, and shift to the advantageous digital world!