the knowledge
Why delivery holds huge potential for the taxi industry
D
URING THE CORONAVIRUS This includes one firm in the Midlands pandemic, taxi and private rolling out a local delivery service for hire operators have taken on 15 businesses – one of which is already plenty of work beyond their providing 30 delivery trips each day. usual remit. Drivers have done everything WHAT’S COMING IN THE FUTURE from delivering parcels for retailers and With private hire firms providing an pharmacies to teaming up with local efficient option for delivering goods, we takeaways to get food to customers – all can expect local operators to continue to support local communities through this Safa Alkateb stepping in when businesses want to fulfil difficult time. new demand coming from consumers. As passenger trips have dropped below As restaurants are now faced with 10pm usual levels, local operators were able to CEO, Autocab curfews, the demand for takeaway orders adapt, offer deliveries and keep drivers is only set to increase. busy. But beyond this short-term change, there’s also a With many people also set to be working from home long-term opportunity in the delivery space for private for the foreseeable future, the demand for home hire and taxi firms. The UK food delivery market is deliveries isn’t going to go away either. We are likely to one that is growing at pace – it is now worth as much see some of the bigger supermarket chains partnering as the taxi and private hire industry combined and with local taxi firms to feed work through when demand it’s growing. This is likely to continue in months and is high. But will this trend continue in the long term? years to come – and could transform the role local taxi Looking further down the line, as retailers and operators play. logistics operators continue to struggle to provide
EARLY SUCCESSES
Over the past few months, private hire firms have proved a great option for restaurants and retailers who needed to find another way to get goods into the hands of customers quickly and safely. Local operators are well-placed to satisfy customer demand in minutes rather than hours – especially during busy periods. They have also been able to expand the geographic range of takeaway deliveries beyond those offered by apps such as Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo, which only cover a small radius. We’ve seen some huge positives from this to date.
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same day delivery solutions that can cover the last mile of delivery across all locations, private hire firms are well placed to step in and help. The ability to dispatch a fleet of vehicles and drivers means local firms can easily add a ground transportation option, in order to service global organisations.
DIFFERENT FLEET REQUIREMENTS Instead of operating a selection of four-door saloons, a few estate cars for airport runs and 7-seater party buses, local operators could add vans, scooters and even bicycles into their dispatch fleet when demand gets too great. Local operators would simply need to be able to receive work – be that traditional passenger, corporate or delivery jobs – from aggregators via a digital marketplace. And that platform already exists. There are more than 100,000 UK vehicles, operating the length and breadth of the UK, who are able to pick up additional work from the iGo marketplace. When private hire firms see jobs arrive on iGo, they can quickly connect those to drivers who can take advantage of this additional source of revenue. As this delivery option becomes more established and creates new opportunities for the industry, private hire and taxi operators will see huge growth potential and they can look forward to a bright future ahead. n S afa Alkateb, CEO, Autocab
OCTOBER 2020
