Hailing a cab today has been made as easy as tapping on your smartphone. Local black cab service eCabs has made another step in its investment in the latest technology by launching an app that does the job in a simple yet effective way.

The app, available for Android-based smartphones and Apple iPhone users, integrates tightly with the company’s technological back-end infrastructure built by San Ġwann-based iMovo.

Available free of charge from the Apple App Store and Google Play, the app provides another interface between the taxi service and its clients.

The passenger simply enters the details of the required trip into the app and these are then sent to the cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) ICT solution of eCabs. The staff then processes the request and a cab is dispatched accordingly. The app also keeps track of all the trips booked as part of a loyalty scheme.

Apart from smartphones, it was also tested on tablets and works just as well.

“The app was not developed to have something trendy but because it closes the loop between service provider and customer. It was also envisaged in eCabs’ business plan,” explained Darren Mercieca, CRM team leader at iMovo.

The app is available in six different languages: English, Italian, French, Spanish, Swedish and Russian. There is no Maltese version because there was no business case for it.

Since its launch exactly four years ago, eCabs has harnessed the potential of the latest technology to build its market share and a 41-vehicle fleet from nothing.

Its ICT booking and management systems are in the cloud, i.e. they are not installed on a server at the eCabs headquarters but online and therefore easier to access and upgrade. The system is fully integrated with a PBX telephony application, so each time a customer calls, the system will automatically search the customer database and bring up the customer details and other information.

The app was not developed to have something trendy but because it closes the loop between service provider and customer

This, in itself, reduces time spent on the phone for both the customer and the eCabs sales agent, while reducing time capturing customer names, addresses and phone numbers.

The app adds another communication channel between customers and the company, which was also at the forefront in providing technology-based value-added services to its passengers. It was the first to offer complimentary wi-fi access to passengers on its vehicles and to send an SMS to passengers waiting for a cab to alert them that pick-up was imminent and give them the registration number of the cab on the way.

iMovo’s Michael Vassallo and Christa Agius, who also worked on the development of the app, revealed that it has been downloaded more than 2,000 times by iPhone users, who are a bit keener than Android users in trying it out. An app that works on Windows phone is being considered.

Reviews have been positive so far on Google Play and reviews on the Apple App Store are expected to be published soon as they take long to appear.

“The take-up, as expected, has been gradual but continuous,” Matthew Bezzina, manager director at eCabs, confirmed.

“We have noticed that foreign and young tech savvy travellers tend to be more receptive to this kind of booking medium, mainly due to the fact that such technology is widely available in cities abroad. Once enough trust is built in the app and clients discover the advantages of booking through it, we are confident that the more conservative part of our customer base will eventually ditch the traditional modes of booking. Being at par and in some cases better than the best taxi companies abroad is paramount in order to maintain our competitive edge while remaining sustainable.”

Encouraged by the positive response to this app, eCabs has already expressed its intention to commission a second app to handle the dispatching of drivers. Even with the current app, there’s the need for a human dispatcher.

Furthermore, it makes more business sense as a few bytes of data is cheaper than a voice call and it looks more professional – and is certainly safer – for a driver to get his job instructions over a screen than to answer a phone call while driving.

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