Alexander Pershikov, the transport evangelist, founder of GetTransfer.comserial entrepreneur and a metaverse visionary.
getty
A few decades ago, if you wanted to go somewhere by taxi, you had to call a transport company, order a taxi and wait to be picked up. If the trip was urgent, go to a busy street and take a taxi. In both cases, the journey costs were often high and the waiting time was often unpredictable.
The game started to change in the 2010s when Uber, Lyft and other aggregators entered the global market. These companies have completely turned the idea of ​​taxis on its head. The customer no longer had to call and wait; the order for a ride could be placed directly on a smartphone app and you could immediately see the cost of the trip and the waiting time. Drivers no longer had to be specially trained taxi drivers and have a yellow taxi. You can start working at any time by registering in the app. The world saw people turn into taxi drivers in minutes. It was a disruption to the industry, and it was big.
However, there have also been challenges along the way. I started my own ride hailing business in 2016 with the aim of supporting not only customers but drivers after observing some of the pain points drivers have faced.
Commissions and costs
The convenience of ordering and paying for a taxi is modern and convenient for customers, but let’s not forget that the drivers are first and foremost the drivers who make taxi businesses thrive. But from my perspective, if a company’s primary focus is on the customer, it can mean sacrificing the driver experience.
Some taxi park owners may remember the days when they were the elite of the taxi business. I believe these times are over as the demand for ride hailing apps has increased. However, with ride hailing, “Many drivers feel that they are not being paid enough, that the commission is too high, that the companies don’t care about them,” Harry Campbell, a driver and founder of a rideshare blog, told Bloomberg.
Furthermore, if Buzzfeed news reportedthe net pay of rideshare drivers does not take into account additional costs of drivership such as car insurance, gasoline, car payments, maintenance, etc. One driver told Slate“In any given week, [he] expect to lose just over $350 on gas, car cleaning, insurance, maintenance, and parking costs. I believe these kinds of challenges can contribute to driver burnout and stress.
Changing the rules of the game
drivers have strikes held against the existing rules of the game in large cities. From my perspective, companies can work to change the rules of the game by creating new services that take care of all participants in the process. This is something my company does like others.
For startups looking to enter the space, focus on offering low driver commissions and useful applications. Collectors can also work to change the situation and make it more favorable for everyone. I think the magic formula of happy drivers requires modest commissions and no hidden payments.
In order to bring highly skilled professionals into the ride hailing industry, I believe that companies should also return their earnings to drivers. I think this may lead some drivers to not view the work of taxi drivers as temporary, and customers can immediately benefit from the service.
For the industry, I see the long-term solution as building a marketplace that brings lasting peace so that everyone can enjoy the process: the driver, the customer and the companies. All it takes is to take our eyes off the benefits of ‘now’ and pay attention to people. This is guaranteed to yield benefits later on.
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