CAB MY RIDE REVOLUTIONISES
Southampton is noted for its association with the Titanic; the Spitfire; as being one of the departure points for D-Day, and as the home port of some of the largest cruise ships in the world. Coupled with its local airport and two railway stations, Southampton is a serious transport hub for thou- sands of travellers every year.
This of course includes the crucial door-to-door transport provision offered by the taxi and private hire industry in the city. Up there with the most progressive of these is Cab My Ride, a local ground trans- portation company that is refining local transport with its use of technology and customer-centric approach; they’re creating the UK’s first network of local suppliers fulfilling trips across the UK.
Cab My Ride was founded in 2016 by Harjit Sohata as a local taxi company in Southampton to revolutionise the taxi industry, supply drivers with freedom of choice and the flexibility they crave from being self-employed, and to provide customers with an experience like no other, using technology to enhance every journey.
Their mission is simple: they provide fair, honest and transparent transport, accessible to anyone anywhere. This 24/7/365 firm offers a complete range of services: door-to-door, chauffeur/executive/ business travel, airport and cruise ship transfers, tours and excursions.
CEO Arjan Sohata is justifiably proud of the company’s progressive growth. He told PHTM: “In four years we’ve grown the company to 200 drivers with 44 per cent of our business coming through the Cab My Ride app and with operations serving the whole of the south coast, from the New Forest to Brighton.
“With low fares and consistently high service, we contribute our success to having a customer-centric approach and providing state- of-the-art technology so customers can easily access information.”
BESPOKE TECHNOLOGY WORKS
Arjan continues: “Technology is a huge part of our business. Cab My Ride is positioned very uniquely with our in-house team of developers working in partnership with the University of Southampton, we’re able to work with students who understand what our goal is and also understand what our customers want. With this, we’re always focused on producing a product we know customers will love and will use in the future.
“We understand the importance of having powerful, adaptive tech- nology to guarantee customers continuously use our app and ser- vices over the likes of Uber and Ola. Customers will always prefer a local brand offering services and personal experience others can- not provide in a hyper-local way.
“It is important we have these systems in place so we never miss a beat, this ensures that money is not being spent on marketing and then losing the connections a month later. Technology enables us to be protective and it’s all automated.”
HAS THE BUSINESS EXPANDED?
“Cab My Ride is growing in Southampton; currently we’re the fastest- growing taxi company in the city. We have plans to grow across the UK, however, after a conversation with GMB Union we now have a strategy to work with local businesses in areas where we see cus- tomers using the app to build a network working together to serve all our customers. Currently we have partners in the UK and we’re grow- ing this network every day. We’re able to do this by providing com- panies with fleet dispatch technology and trips to fulfil on our behalf.
“Cab My Ride is proud to offer drivers a fair, honest and transparent network to work with. Our drivers are at the heart of all that we do; their commitment and hard work powers the transportation net- work. We care deeply about our drivers, and that’s why we work closely with every single one to increase opportunities, which is why we’re the cheapest platform for drivers on the South Coast.
THE TECHNOLOGY
“Our technology was built so we can have the freedom to expand and evolve on what we have, to be customer-orientated and not to be dictated by a software company that does not have the insight into the daily running of the business.
John Darlington - Business Development Manager (l) and Harjit Sahota - Founder (r) at Southampton University
54 “With our partnership with the University of Southampton, we SEPTEMBER 2020
“Cab My Ride understands that the world and customer behaviour is changing; fewer people are owning cars and relying on private transport or ridesharing. Cities are changing their landscape to be car-free and consumers are becoming more aware of environmen- tally friendly brands and products.
“We understand that our approach to these issues will ensure that we are aligned with our customers’ priority when they are selecting a paying service. It is where we’re investing time and resources to build an eco-system to ensure we provide customers with what they’ll need in the future. To do that we need powerful technology and a network of companies working together to cement our existence.
HOW DO YOU KEEP CUSTOMERS LOYAL?
“Traditionally customers have little or no loyalty to one company; they’re looking for a quick and cheap fare. However, we believe that with our customers we can create meaningful connections across all media. Known as a Community it enables us to be ever more con- nected with our customers and have instant conversations with them.
“At Cab My Ride we know the importance of keeping passengers coming back to our app, so using social media to drive engagement and brand awareness is vital for us; it keeps riders hooked and we’re always in the forefront of their thinking process. We then use technology, driven through our app and system to keep customer retention high.
“All of this is automated and AI-driven so we’re never too invasive of our customers; the last thing anyone wants is a daily email re- minding them of service. For example, if a customer uses us weekly and then suddenly stops, our technology can trigger an automated protocol to find out why they’ve stopped, how likely they are to travel again and the resolution to provide the customer to bring back the business. These actions take milliseconds and are the difference between losing that customer completely or bringing them back.
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