Lockdown & COVID-19 has meant far fewer people are traveling abroad and are instead going on UK city breaks as a holiday. As a result, there is a major increased footfall in cities and they may require more taxi services to help them get around.
For the industry to thrive in this environment, it’s imperative that the taxi and tourism sectors can cultivate a symbiotic relationship, otherwise, the ride-share apps such as Uber look poised to take away a lot of the custom.
Touching down
From the moment tourists arrive at the station, they are going to want to take a taxi directly into the city center and find their bearings. This is why you typically find dozens of taxi cabs located out-side all of a city’s main rail stations. However, if parking up outside the station and waiting for the customer to come to you is your only tactic then you’re going to run out of work quickly. More tour-ists mean the ranks will fill quicker but it also means there are going to be more options for diversification when it comes to how taxi drivers operate.
Knowing the way
There’s a reason why all official London taxi drivers have to pass an incredibly difficult test based on local roads to become a black cabbie. “The Knowledge” is the cornerstone of the industry and means that if you get into a black cab in the capital, you’ll know you’re in the best possible hands. Uber drivers might have their phones out with GPS, but nobody knows the fastest way to a tourist spot better than somebody who literally knows the roads of a city like the back of their hands.
Standing out
Large tourist cities are typically going to have dozens of different taxi firms competing for business and that’s before you factor in the independent taxi drivers. Due to the aforementioned increased football, some individuals may decide to jump on the trend; they may buy a taxi, as you could find on Cab Direct, and enter into the market. That’s why it’s important to stand out and you can do that by focusing on one specific element of your business. Maybe you want to promote your comfortably luxurious interiors? Or maybe promote your famously speedy taxi service? Find a niche and make sure the public knows about it.
Keeping up with the Ubers
Speaking of Uber, their app has become the golden standard when it comes to convenience and usability but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be cashing in on the idea of ordering a cab with a tap. Many independent taxi firms have taken the initiative and designed their very own apps that ape the GPS tracking idea’s of Uber and Lyft. It’s not difficult or expensive to set up and if you can combine the convenience of Uber with the knowledge and the history of a traditional taxi driver then you just might be able to corner the market!