GROUND TRANSPORT
’APPY CLIENTS?
Despite the huge success of hail-a-ride providers, many travel buyers still feel they are not right for corporate policies
By BOB PAPWORTH J
UNE 2017 MARKED THE FIFTH ANNI- VERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF LYFT, the San Francisco-based, US-centric ride-hailing app. It also marked the end of Transport for London’s con-
sultation period on proposed changes to the fees it charges minicab drivers. For Uber, June was what the Queen might
have described as a ‘mensis horribilis’ – not that, as far as BBT is aware, Her Majesty has ever sought the services of, or employment as, a minicab driver. Uber’s ‘horrible month’ – and there have
been a few – includes the prospect of having to cough up more than £2 million to license its 30,000 London-based drivers for the five years from September. Its previous five-year licence, extended for four months in May this year, came to £2,826. But that’s just in London. Uber chief ex- ecutive and co-founder Travis Kalanick faced
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
mounting pressure following publication of a highly-critical internal report on his com- pany’s culture. Former US attorney-general Eric Holder was hired to investigate after software engineer Susan Fowler alleged that her complaints of sexual harass- ment at Uber were ignored. On June 11, Uber’s board of directors unanimously agreed to accept Holder’s recommendations. On June 21, Kalanick resigned. Uber has been valued this year at nearly
US$70 billion. Meanwhile, Jaguar Land Rover subsidiary Inmotion Ventures recently bought a US$25 million stake in Uber rival Lyft, as part of the US$600 million fundraiser that values the company at US$7.5 billion. Despite Uber’s various troubles, it’s pretty
clear that the firm has spearheaded a signifi- cant change in consumers’ expectations and habits around the world when it comes to using taxis.
Gone are those freezing February eve-
nings when forlorn figures on Oxford Street (or Times Square or Place de la Concorde) peered myopically through the drizzle in the hope of hailing the only- available taxi before some sprightlier cab- flagger jumped the informal queue.
THE NEW WAY These days, ride-hailing apps mean the driver comes to the client, rather than the other way around, he doesn’t have to be asked to stop off at a cash machine, and he won’t baulk at driving south of the river (Thames, Hudson, Seine…). It’s hardly sur- prising that business travellers love them. At first, travel managers veered between
the somewhat sceptical and the downright horrified. Citing duty-of-care considerations, they rightly questioned the quality controls on the type, state and reliability of vehicles; the qualifications and suitability of the
BBT July/August 2017 71
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