FOR THE YEAR AHEAD
but the switch to electric vehicles (EVs) in just the next nine years is more profound and will come with challenges and opportunities this year.
Firstly, most car manufacturers were financially and logistically impacted by Covid-19 and its ensuing recession; add the arrival of Brexit and one can see their ability to launch a full range of EVs will be fur- ther delayed. Most of the EV models this year are hatchbacks and SUVs, though the portfolio will rapidly expand over the next few years to the most common saloon cars and MPVs used as taxis, and with improving battery ranges. But progress will most likely be with the accelerated UK wide rollout of EV charging points starting from this year, opening up the viability of cab operators to start switching to EVs sooner rather than later. This will become an increasingly important requirement for corporate customers who will need to show reductions in their own carbon footprints. And since EVs by their nature feature online connectivity, the rollout of 5G mobile networks this year will start to unlock some com- pelling capabilities, though hopefully not Zoom calls for drivers!
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
The other important trend that may emerge is provisioning cab drivers to fulfil new, additional types of work. Covid lockdowns saw operators and drivers step up to service delivery of everything from medicines to takeaway food. The growing recognition of the essential role the cab industry can play, coupled with the openness of cab bosses and drivers to try new operating models, can present much needed income streams to aid their financial recovery post-Covid.
What does this all mean for the competitive landscape in 2021? The operating models of ride hailing apps typically suit the largest city centres, and so these came under strain when Covid pushed more of the population towards remote working from the suburbs. With organic expansion of their passenger offering into more UK cities now less feasible, the likes of Uber and Bolt have since diversified more into offering e-scooters/bikes and food delivery.
Indeed, Uber’s shock announcement last summer that it plans to acquire cab dispatch system, Autocab,
JANUARY 2021 7
underlines how much things are changing. It will be a strange sight to see Uber try and partner with local PH/taxi operators – akin to a bear hug - through its ownership of Autocab’s iGo platform. As I highlighted in my article for PHTM last September, cab bosses should evaluate the merits of partnering with Uber with their eyes wide open, as such consequences will ripple across the sector for many years to come. Regardless, we will see more cab firms at least take on a dispatch system for the first time in a bid to operate more efficiently, which is a good thing.
MOVE TO ONLINE
One undisputed trend that Covid accelerated is that even the most senior of customers will expect to engage with local cab fleets much more online, given lockdowns conditioned the population to do so for everything from shopping to banking. Connecting customers with cab firms online is a core role of aggregators, of which minicabit is Britain’s largest. 2020 saw a survival of the fittest, with kabbee shutting down in London and Here Mobility closing down its aggregation marketplace covering cabs. In contrast, minicabit saw over 100 more cab firms join its platform, signalling the vital role that aggregators with resilient models can play in helping the cab sector adjust to the new normal.
Ultimately, I saw how our industry proved its crucial role in society during the first lockdown when many cab firms and drivers UK-wide stepped up to transport our NHS heroes to the frontline, helped by over £250,000 that minicabit raised with its charity partner.
One is hard pressed to find a sector that is so hardworking and resilient…indeed, built like an Ox.
Here’s to a great 2021. Article supplied by:
Amer Hasan, CEO of minicabit, the UK’s largest cab comparison website
minicabit.com
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