Facilitating city travel is one of the cases where the positive contribution of technology is evident. In Greece, and more specifically in the capital, there are now three services that intervene to serve drivers and taxi passengers, TaxiBeat, the Taxiplon and recently, the Uber.
Η τεχνολογία αναλαμβάνει τις λεπτομέρειες που καθιστούν εφικτή μια τέτοια υπηρεσία: που βρίσκεται ο επιβάτης, ποιος είναι ο πλησιέστερος διαθέσιμος οδηγός (GPS με την συνδρομή και των δικτύων κινητής τηλεφωνίας), ποιο είναι το προφίλ του οδηγού ή/και του επιβάτη (mobile app), πόσο κοντά βρίσκεται, τι προσφέρει και πόσο καλός θεωρείται με βάση τις ratings άλλων επιβατών. Μπορεί ακόμα να αναλάβει και την διεκπεραίωση της πληρωμής, εάν ο επιβάτης επιλέξει να πληρώνει χωρίς μετρητά, μέσω πιστωτικής/χρεωστικής cards or via PayPal.
In most cases, with the exception of the Taxiplon that operates hybridly, 18222 is also a prerequisite for the existence of a smartphone with an Internet connection. From the passenger's side, the requirement for access to the Internet may be limited to the starting point, while it is absolutely essential for the driver to stay online as he wishes to serve through the taxi service.
"We're only an app": Δύο από τις τρεις αυτές υπηρεσίες ξεκαθαρίζουν -για νομικούς και φορολογικούς λόγους- ότι δεν είναι οι ίδιες «υπηρεσίες μετακίνησης» (ή μεταφοράς αντικειμένων). Προτιμούν να αυτοπροσδιορίζονται ως μια «πλατφόρμα», που καλεί αφενός τους οδηγούς ταξί να εγγραφούν στην υπηρεσία για να δέχονται αιτήματα για μετακίνηση ανθρώπων -ή και ασυνόδευτων αντικειμένων- αφετέρου, τους δυνητικούς επιβάτες να εκμεταλλευτούν την δυνατότητά τους να γνωρίζουν που βρίσκεται «το κατάλληλο ταξί τώρα». Η αποκλειστικότητα της εφαρμογής ταξί, Taxiplon για την Ελλάδα και την Κύπρο, έχει παραχωρηθεί από τον Απρίλιο του 2012 στην company MK Transfer Club (which has been in the transfer business since 2003).
Do smartphones have taxis?
The advantages offered by these services to drivers appear to be many.
Instead of running through the streets of the city or standing for a while on the taxi platforms looking for a passenger, the drivers activate the data traffic on the smartphone with their account and respond to the service calls.
They are also able to know at all times that there is plenty of traffic to go by.
They can respond to requests near the location they are in, while they might otherwise have passed.
They also have the opportunity to increase their clientele and their turnover, thanks to the added value they can offer to the passenger, such as a baby seat, Wi-Fi internet access, foreign languages or simply excellent service.
For these reasons, with the major increase in their turnover, taxi services seem to be here to stay.
What does the passenger gain?
Given drivers' acceptance, passengers also have a lot to gain. The first advantage they seek and often distinguish customers is direct taxi picking, free of charge, without a necessary phone call or reservation, but with a tap on their smartphone. All services allow taxis to be found even from the browser, but mainly from a portable device such as a smartphone.
Obviously, the number of vehicles in each service is the big difference. The larger the fleet of registered vehicles, the higher the chance of finding a taxi at the critical point, or the specifications potentially sought by the potential passenger. Although the three players in Athens are talking about the best words for co-operating drivers and have set up rating systems to protect their reputation, which is closely linked to the services offered by drivers, it is true that they can not guarantee for whom. However, if you read the terms of use of the service from the drivers, for example, Taxibeat, you will see that there are many rules, the breach of which may cost the driver, his exclusion from the service for some days or for all. For example, if a telephone call shows that the driver did not appear unreasonably after accepting a move request, he is charged with a Taxibeat exclusion for 10 days. If the same incident happens for a second consecutive time in 2 months then it is permanently blocked from accessing Taxibeat's customers.
Has the taxi become cheaper?
As taxi services are on the rise, competition between them increases. So, we start to see even for free races in the city, which the service undertakes to ensure. For example, when conducting a major event, all service taxis can serve by providing a substantial discount or even free of charge. UberTaxi is launched in Athens with a discount of 20% up to date and its offer did not leave TaxiBeat unanswered, which responded with a 20 Euro prize to all new app users.
Another advantage is the sense of security that is created for the passenger because he can see the driver's profile, know his license plate, even have his phone number. This information may, for example, be useful if, for example, you forget something in your car.
Another advantage is all these value-added services, such as a baby seat, foreign languages (imagine being in a foreign city), or others such as the ability to pick up your friends from the street and share the fare.
These services receive payments via a credit or debit card, Taxibeat also accepts via PayPal, while Uber considers its advantage to use the exclusive UberTaxi service without cash.
Taxibeat, Uber and Taxiplon do not require drivers to cooperate as exclusive. However, the best drivers are emerging from the multiple positive ratings of the passengers. So in order to build a good profile in the service, it will probably be appearing on the network. Similarly, potential passengers can use all three services for personal service appraisal purposes, have three apps installed, take advantage of their offers and discounts, or just end up trusting one of the three networks for different reasons.
Interestingly, drivers can also have reviews and ratings for the passengers they have served.
The customer does not charge anything for taxi services. Instead, drivers pay a percentage for the use of the service on the route value (eg, in the case of Taxibeat is 10%), which is known at any time in the network. In the case of UberTaxi, the passenger can even share with friends his current position while on the move to his destination - something useful in the case of elderly or teenage movement. The end of the route may not be known from the start - for example, in Taxibeat, the customer does not indicate its destination to speed up the process, whereas the UberTaxi may be known for the destination and / or the estimated cost of the route the amount you're asked to pay depends on traffic, destination, eg airport, and other parameters, such as discounts).
Another difference between services is whether it is allowed to carry more than one customer of the service. In Taxibeat this is not allowed, Uber is allowed with the permission of the customer already in the race - with the Split Fare option for sharing the race with friends from the contact book accessed by the app.
The advantages of taxi-hailing services are undoubtedly many. However, one parameter that every user should consider is the way their data is used as well as their security. Remember that, where you are during a route or where you went is on the servers of these online services, as well as the history of your routes. If you really don't want to leave anything to chance, it's a good idea if you ever decide to go back out on the streets looking for a taxi, to deactivate your accounts and claim the deletion of your data immediately.
Surely this review is not complete, but we could not draw any safe conclusions even with an exhaustive table of comparison of the features they offer or not. The experience of the passenger (and the driver) will determine his choice as well as the image he will form in the long run as the fleets of cars are re-engineered and, above all, as the drivers are experimenting.
