Although the taxi industry was set back by the global COVID-19 pandemic, demand is progressively returning to the market as less severe virus strains are dominant and mass vaccinations have spread worldwide. 

“Over the long term, the taxi industry is expected to grow due to increasing demand for ride-hailing and ride-sharing services, increasing demand from online taxi booking channels, and an increase in the cost of vehicle ownership. Compared to other modes of transportation, increasing traffic congestion and low taxi fare are the other major factors driving the taxi market.”

Source: Mordor Intelligence Taxi Market Analysis 

Innovation is key when growing your small fleet. Taxi, NEMT, & other transportation business owners need a transportation software system for integrating booking & dispatching.

Online Bookings are Driving the Market

According to a taxi market analysis by Mordor Intelligence, one of the primary factors fueling the market’s growth is the increased usage of online cab booking platforms, mostly because of the convenience they provide to clients. They also offer simple online payment options and the flexibility of choosing the pick-up and drop-off locations.

The ease of booking through an app or online booking portal has significantly attracted customers to prefer online booking over offline booking, with most of society using the internet and smartphones for almost everything. Additionally, the availability of information on the app like ride tracking, pre-estimated ride fare, driver contact, and vehicle details has further increased the customer preference for online booking.

Keeping Up with Competitors

As you may already know, the transportation industry has changed most notably as the ride-sharing players, like Uber, Grab, and Lyft have entered the game. The ease of online/app booking and automated dispatching changed the expectations society has for transportation management, and consumers look for that same convenience. 

Many taxi and other transportation owners have been resilient in their efforts to adapt, while others have had to close the doors on their businesses. The successful companies are always looking for new ways to provide a better service to their customers, a better experience for their drivers, and a cost-effective means to optimize operations.

Make the SmartMove

It can be overwhelming to choose the right taxi software for your business. Especially if you are starting with a small fleet, you need transportation software that can cater to your growth, without breaking the bank. That’s where SmartMove Systems comes into play.

SmartMove Systems is an all-in-one, one-stop-shop for all your transportation operation needs.

• Customer Solutions

  • Custom Online Booking & Mobile Application
    • No login after initial setup
    • Easy to use
    • Fare estimates
    • ETA and car tracking
    • Pay using the app
    • Deliveries — order food and goods for collection and delivery through your app
    • Promo codes and vouchers
    • Upfront payment authentication
    • Choice of vehicle
    • Select prefilled pickup or destinations based on the travel history
    • Book for immediate pickup or pre-book
    • Accurate ETAs
    • Track the driver
    • Rate and review the driver
    • Digital receipts
    • Safe ride tracking — send a link to a friend to track your arrival
  • Corporate account portals with customizable options

• Driver Solutions

Your drivers have access to SmartDriver, a state-of-the-art app which allows them to handle bookings away from their vehicles. At the touch of a button, SmartDriver will also respond to messages, access shift reports, and fill in the logbook.

• Receive job offers, and interact with them.
• Send and receive messages
• Navigate to the next job using the phone’s GPS
• View the ‘End of Shift’ report
• Fill in the logbook
• View flight Information
• View future booking information
• Easy access to job & financial information

• Fleet Operations Solutions

  • SmartMove provides you with simple cost-saving options for the daily management of your call center. Using our SmartVoix phone system, you can automate common tasks, and you can easily eliminate data entry errors with the IVR (Interactive Voice Response) automatic booking systems.
    • See our SmartVoix video here for more detailed information on this feature.
    • You can choose to use the call center on a full time or part time basis to give you flexibility when you need it.
  • SmartMove uses leading edge technology to quickly dispatch bookings to the most suitable cars; however, it also handles your accounting, legislative, and quality insurance requirements giving you detailed information on every aspect of every job. We call these innovative accounting features DocketKiller as they eradicate paperwork and save you time and money by streamlining your book-keeping processes dramatically.
    • At the end of every job, the driver is required to record how the fare was paid. This can be made compulsory so that the details of every payment are captured and used in the paperless reporting processes.
    • Benefit for Owner/Operator 
      • Reports available which summarize the account work done by a vehicle. 
      • Formatted as an invoice from owner to fleet 
      • Owner can check details before invoices are issued to account holders.

• Owner Operator Solutions

• • The live mapping functionality shows the location of all cars and their states, for example, if they are vacant or currently engaged. This map can also show the booking details.
  • With SmartMove, you have unlimited and full access to all of your data, all the time at no extra cost. We also offer customized and centralized reporting to ensure you get the information where and when you need it. We also give you real time access to your data and reporting tools that streamline your paperwork and reduce manual data entry.
    • Invoices to account holders for work done on account
    • Financial transactions for invoiced work and claims from owners can integrate seamlessly with MYOB or QuickBooks.
    • End-of-shift report providing a complete history of work done on a shift along with a financial reconciliation can be produced in a few seconds. This is particularly useful for fleet-owned cars.
    • An invoice from bailor (owner) to bailee (driver) for work done can also be generated to assist with financial reconciliation.
    • Web booking users can have jobs charged to their account. This might remove the need to justify claims as the users themselves have made the bookings.

Why Choose SmartMove Systems?

With over 17 years in the industry, we’ve helped taxi companies from big to small fleets (2–200+ vehicles) optimize their operations within their budget, allowing them to grow more easily. As they grow, they have been able to add more features as their budget allows, rather than spreading themselves out too thin at the get-go. Work with us for a personalized plan that fits your budget. Small fleets rave about the ease and advantages they experience with SmartMove Systems. 

Let’s Chat

Our team is experienced in providing cost-effective taxi/transportation software that make running your business easy. Schedule a demo with us, and we can show you what you can expect and what the easy onboarding process entails. 

Feel free to contact us with any questions you might have about our services, and we’ll be happy to provide answers. 

Contact Us Book a Demo Call 206-886-0620 ]]> https://smartmovesystems.com/blog/2022/11/10/small-fleet-taxi-cab-nemt-shuttle-business-operations-software-system-dispatch-app-call-center/feed/ 0 https://smartmovesystems.com/blog/2022/10/21/what-is-the-best-most-affordable-taxi-software-for-my-growing-cab-company/ https://smartmovesystems.com/blog/2022/10/21/what-is-the-best-most-affordable-taxi-software-for-my-growing-cab-company/#respond Thu, 20 Oct 2022 18:52:45 +0000 https://smartmovesystems.com/?p=1163 If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you either own a taxi/transportation company or are looking at starting one up. Congratulations on your ambition that has gotten you this far. Now, if you’re shopping for transportation software to fit your needs and budget, there are a few factors to be aware of when considering the right choice for your business.

• Booking & Dispatching
• Call Center Integration
• Reporting
• Costs & Scalability

Booking Capabilities & Dispatching Capabilities

The transportation software you choose should have an easy-to-use interface for customers and corporate clients. 

SmartMove provides passenger booking technology which is modern and easy to use. 

The SmartHail passenger booking app is easy to use and robust. The generic version is available for all fleets or the app can be easily branded to your fleet. The SmartHail app provides passengers with the ability to track the route taken in real-time giving peace of mind to parents or friends.

SMS with tracking

After making a booking through SmartHail, the passenger will receive confirmation by SMS with a tracking link which can be forwarded to family or friend so they can track the taxi ride on a live map.

SmartHail also allows your passenger to quickly and easily order food or packages for collection and delivery.  Tracking your incoming meal or package is now easier than ever.

With SmartHail, you can be in your passenger’s pocket all the time and know every step of their journey.

• No login after initial set up
• Easy to use
• Fare estimates
• ETA and car tracking
• Pay using the app
• Deliveries – order food and goods for collection and delivery through your app
• Promo codes and vouchers
• Upfront payment authentication
• Choice of vehicle
• Select prefilled pick up or destinations based on the travel history
• Book for immediate pickup or pre-book
• Accurate etas
• Track the driver
• Rate and review the driver
• Digital receipts
• Safe ride tracking – send a link to a friend to track your arrival

Corporate Account Portal

The SmartMove Account Portal provides features which benefit the Taxi Service Providers (TSPs) using the SmartMove Dispatch Systems to –

• Manage and control their client or account customer budgets using the customizable portal
• Easily create multiple bookings for each client and manage them
• Set up travel budgets for each client and enable automatic deduction of fare after each trip
• Receiving a warning when the set threshold as per budget has been reached
• Limit pick up or destination options for particular clients
• Limit booking times to only allow travel at certain times

The SmartMove Account Portal also provides features which benefit the passengers/Account Customers allowing them to –

• Customize their portal to make and manage their own bookings
• Create multiple bookings at a time
• View scheduled bookings and booking history
• Manage (edit/cancel) bookings without any Call Center intervention from the portal

Call Center Integration

Another challenge with growing transportation operations is the capability of answering inbound customer calls and chats. You need a system that has the ability to easily integrate with booking phone systems.

Luckily, SmartMove Systems provides the resources to make it easy for your day-to-day inbound call operations.

SmartMove provides you with simple cost saving options for the daily management of your call center. Using our SmartVoix phone system you can automate common tasks and you can easily eliminate data entry errors with the IVR (Interactive Voice Response) automatic booking systems.

See our SmartVoix video here for more detailed information on this feature.

You can choose to use our specialized transportation call center on a full time or part time basis to give you flexibility when you need it, at the best rates.

Reporting

It’s important to keep detailed information and records regarding your financials. As your business grows, it’s vital that you track performance of each driver, payouts, and more information necessary to protect your business in case of an audit or other situation where proof of financials is required.

SmartMove’s reporting and tracking tools offer a cohesive approach to taxi fleet management, providing insights to improve operational efficiency and fleet performance, identify cost saving areas, improve rosters, and much more.

• Drivers have immediate access to their own End-Of-Shift reports
• Bailment reports can be generated without having to manually add up figures
• SmartMove Go can interface with most external meters to automatically record fares at the end of a job or alternatively you can use the inbuilt soft meter. This ensures that you know exactly how much your cars are taking.

Regulatory Compliance

Any recorded date can be monitored for adherence with regulatory compliances. You can also specify a warning period and an action eg. Prevent login if the vehicle registration has run out.

• Drivers license
• Car Insurance
• Driver Insurance and police checks
• Driver performance statistics
• Vehicle registration and plate expiry
• Vehicle attributes

Unlimited Reporting Capabilities including

• Total no. of bookings
• Booking completion %
• Booking automation
• Number of active drivers / passengers / accounts
• Average hourly booking
• Booking status % (cancellation and no-show reports)
• Source of bookings (IVR, App etc.)
• Booking detail reports are available for every job including hails and walk-ups
• No show reports
• Excessive waiting time report
• No show report and pick-up location report
• Various reports and exports for the Government:.

Costs & Scalability

When making such a great commitment in implementing a transportation operations system like SmartMove Systems, it must make sense financially. 

SmartMove takes pride in being able to offer dynamic pricing to cater to transportation companies’ differing needs and budgets. Our system can be modified as you grow, where small fleets can keep up with technological expectations from customers as well as drivers.

Schedule a demonstration with our team today, and learn how we’ve helped taxi companies thrive.