1-800-TAXICAB Goes Live With a National Taxicab Solution.Business Editors/Travel & Transportation Writers LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2000 1-800-TAXICAB today announced the activation of a nationwide toll-free number that passengers across the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. can call at no charge to be connected immediately with local taxi companies. By pinpointing the location of callers, the company routes calls directly into the dispatching centers of its nationwide network of ground transportation providers. "1-800-TAXICAB is the easiest number to get a taxi," said 1-800-TAXICAB chief executive officer, Mark Adkins Mark Adkins (born 1968) is a punk rock musician from Huntington Beach, California and is most famous for being the leader, composer and lead singer of the band Guttermouth[1]. His hobbies include skateboarding, hating children and watching television. . "Anywhere you are and everywhere you go, this toll-free number instantly puts you in touch with a taxi dispatcher Software that determines what pending tasks should be done next and assigns the available resources to accomplish it. It may execute other programs or generate a list for human operators to follow. See scheduler. ." Passengers can also access the 1-800-TAXICAB network of taxis through a broad array of technological platforms, including wireless Web phones, PDAs and an online order form. Through an agreement with Go2Systems, the 1-800-TAXICAB service is available on Sprint PCS (1) (Personal Communications Services) Refers to wireless services that emerged after the U.S. government auctioned commercial licenses in 1994 and 1995. This radio spectrum in the 1. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :PCS), Nextel (Nasdaq:NXTL) and Verizon (NYSE:VZ) Web phones. In a separate arrangement with OmniSky (Nasdaq:OMNY), a 1-800-TAXICAB application for PDAs is available for Palm Vs, as well as on Palm VIIs. "Our mission is to provide the greatest level of convenience for travelers who need to find a taxi," said Adkins. "That's why we made it a point to be the first nationwide taxi referral service to be available online, the first to be positioned on wireless Web phones and the first to release an application for PDAs." While pursuing these technological innovations, the company's primary competitive advantage is its telephone number. "Well over 90 percent of all taxi reservations are placed over the telephone and that's where our service excels -- anyone can call 1-800-TAXICAB from any phone to get a taxi." The company intends to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. its telecom brand by building out the functionality of its services. "We are working to make our applications even more dynamic by giving users the ability to order airport shuttles and limousines, as well as to access other useful information for travelers, such as flight information and weather," said Adkins. The company is developing an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) An automated telephone information system that speaks to the caller with a combination of fixed voice menus and data extracted from databases in real time. platform with attributes of the voice portals, such as voice recognition and targeted advertisements. At the same time, 1-800-TAXICAB is also structuring its service as an application for other voice portals. "We have had great interest in our service from some of the leading voice portals," said Adkins. "Our exclusive contracts with taxi companies give us the tremendously valuable ability to monetize these calls." The 1-800-TAXICAB network of taxi companies comprises the industry's most prominent players, including Coach USA Coach USA is an American transportation service provider that offers scheduled bus service, city sightseeing, tour and charter bus service. Its main focus is in the New York Metropolitan Area. , a holding of Stagecoach stagecoach, heavy, closed vehicle on wheels, usually drawn by horses, formerly used to transport passengers and goods overland. Throughout the Middle Ages and until about the end of the 18th cent. PLC (LSE LSE - Language Sensitive Editor :SGC SGC Server Gated Cryptography SGC StarGate Command SGC South Georgia College (Douglas, GA, USA) sGC Soluble Guanylate Cyclase SGC Superannuation Guarantee Charge (Australian finance) ), which is North America's largest taxi concern with a fleet of approximately 5,000 vehicles in 19 cities. "Our goal is to ensure that our service gives callers access to the very best taxi companies," said Adkins. The company has also added several leaders of the taxi industry to its advisory board, including several presidents of North America's largest ground transportation trade association, the Taxicab, Limousine and Paratransit Association. The company intends to provide membership benefits to taxi companies enrolled on the 1-800-TAXICAB network. "Vendors in the taxi industry have approached us to gain access to the approximately 20,000 taxis on our network and we're well positioned to negotiate discounts for our members," said Ted Sichelman, president of 1-800-TAXICAB. "We want to pool the resources of our members so that even the smallest taxi company can enjoy large economies of scale. We intend to make 1-800-TAXICAB the leading brand for all taxi services." About 1-800-TAXICAB Los Angeles-based 1-800-TAXICAB is North America's taxicab network. Passengers across North America can call the easy-to-remember number, 1-800-TAXICAB, to be immediately connected at no charge to a local taxi dispatcher. The service is also available via the Internet at www.1800taxicab.com and through Web-enabled phones and PDAs. For more information about 1-800-TAXICAB, contact William Birdthistle at 818/375-5008. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion