Frist Trial Run In London

SaferTaxi is finally going live - at least with a limited trial project in London. Twenty friends of the four founders were asked to participate in the trial project last week. The initial results are very encouraging. However, the founders also wanted to experience the power of SaferTaxi directly by sending Clemens to London. By the first day of his stay he had already used four taxis - two Black Cabs and two Mini Cabs (or private hires). The results were astonishing. Firstly, upon informing the taxi drivers that Clemens would register the ride with SaferTaxi, three out of the four drivers responded that they thought it was a really “cool” idea and something absolutely necessary in London. The fourth taxi driver only grunted “Do what you have to do”. Secondly, the service level and friendliness of all four drivers increased immediately. Clemens was asked if he wanted the light on or off, whether he wanted more heat in the car, or if he had any route preferences. The registration combined with the instant feedback option seems to work extremely well! Similar experiences are being reported by the trial participants.

Traveling Safe!

Not long ago, when I was still earning (sigh!), my good friend R was discussing with me her complicated relationship with taxi drivers. Continuous travelling to various cities in India not withstanding, she had to deal with the often bizarre taxi's that were allocated to her for her various trips. Since most of the taxi ordering and servicing system in India is outsourced by firms, she could never really predict who would service her on any particular day. Since the firm would pass her number along to the cab drivers, within 3 years she had the dubious distinction of having her number available with more than 50 of them, spread across all parts of the country. Worse still, they also knew the addresses of all the guest houses/hotels she stayed in. While she has not fallen into any kind of trouble yet, it will not be altogether surprising if she does. The problem here is not unique to India and I can see it happen potentially anywhere in the world.

Last week, I had a discussion with one of my section mates C, who was telling me about this web startup that people could use to log into their account and provide information everytime they would travel from one location to another along with details of the taxi they were in (number, destination etc. ) . In case of an emergency, the information would reach a chosen contact who would then be able to use the information to track the taxi down. This can even be used as a general informational website where people from different geographies post their taxi ride experiences. This post is a first step towards that end.

While not solving R's problem of having her phone number flying all around the place, if a critical mass of people used this especially in a country like India where there have been a lot of concerns around late night traveling in taxis, this could be a powerful tool in the hands of the public to safeguard themselves. Also, if the movement achieves certain momentum, taxi drivers will be scared to death of taking situational advantage.

(This blog is a slightly modified version of the original blog that can be found here)

Taxi Safety

Taxi Safety

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Directgov - Taxi safety

Please see the link below for the official UK Taxi & Transport safety advice!

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Publictransport/TaxisAndPrivateHireVehicles/DG_10036282

SaferTaxi - Making taxi rides safer!