Environmental Analysis
Although Yellow Cab is among the oldest companies that provide transportation service, it frequently demonstrates the lack of competitive ability at present. There exist broad opportunities to implement some trends that are likely to improve the company’s position in the market. These trends involve environmental, technological, and competition aspects.
First of all, the company does not take enough advantage of the environmental perspective of cabs. It is evident that carbon emissions from vehicles are hazardous for the environment and for human health. Thus, actions should be taken to reduce the harmful effect of vehicles’ overuse. One of the options that can contribute to the solution of the problem is car sharing (Adler, 2014). It is particularly up-to-date in big cities where many people travel the same roots day after day. Thus, neighbors, friends, or colleagues can cooperate and take one cab instead of traveling by their own cars. If this tendency becomes popular, it is going to reduce carbon emissions and thus contribute to environmental protection. Moreover, sharing a car can be beneficial for people who use this service.
The second aspect that is not applied at full in Yellow Cab is technology. At present, many customers are not satisfied with yellow taxi services and frequently describe using it as a miserable experience (Hawkins, 2016). This fact explains the quick and successful spread of such transportation services as Uber and Lyft. These companies provide “cleaner rides, friendlier drivers, and seamless payments” (Hawkins, 2016, para. 1). Moreover, new companies actively imply technology to increase customer satisfaction and make their services more available and comfortable. Despite the attempts of Yellow Cab and similar taxi operators to introduce their own applications, they were not as effective as that of Uber, for example.
At present, there is a planned intervention to install new technology for payment processing provided by Verifone Systems in many cabs throughout the county (Hawkins, 2016). The technology comprises taxi meters and credit card machines as well as entertainment facilities that are supposed not only to improve the experience of riding a cab for passengers but also increase job satisfaction for taxi-drivers. It is planned to equip yellow cabs with touchscreen tablets, USB chargers, and Wi-Fi to make the rides more pleasant for common customers and productive for business people. Moreover, credit card readers are supposed to simplify the payment procedures because more people nowadays prefer cards to cash.
Finally, Yellow Cab does not take advantage of competitive strategies. The fact that the company is the old one with a certain history and experience should become a strength in competition and not a drawback. While technological improvements are crucial to attracting young customers who are technologically friendly, there is still the need for traditional service for older people who do not apply modern gadgets. Thus, the company should improve its phone service as well as implement new technology to satisfy diverse audiences and get competitive advantages compared to the new companies. Another aspect that can contribute to the company’s competitive ability is the consideration of the cultural aspect. Since Yellow Cab functions in big cities with many touristic attractions, taxi drivers should be able to communicate with the representatives of different cultures. It would make the customers prefer this service to others and even recommend it to other people.
Strengths, Weaknesses, and Recommendations
The analysis of taxi service on the whole and Yellow Cab company, in particular, some peculiarities are revealed. The research allowed to single out some strengths and weaknesses of the company. Moreover, it resulted in some recommendations that are likely to improve the position of Yellow Cab in the transportation market and increase customer satisfaction.
Strengths
One of the strengths of the company is the color of the cars involved in the service. Yellow has been a traditional color for taxi cars since 1907. It was the year when the Chicago Yellow Cab Company selected this color grounded on the research conducted at the University of Chicago. The survey proved that “yellow was the most noticeable color, which would make it easy for potential passengers to spot a yellow taxi in the sea of massproduced black cars” that were popular at the beginning of the 20th century (Ho, Chong, & Xia, 2017, p. 3074). However, more than a century after, this choice proved to be correct not only because of the fact that yellow is better recognized by passengers. The research proves that yellow cars are less involved in car accidents than the blue ones. Thus, there are an average of 65.6 accidents involving yellow cars per 1,000 per month compared to 71.7 accidents with blue cars (Ho et al., 2017).
The variety of services make another strength of Yellow Cab company. Thus, the company suggests first class transportation to airports available 24/7 (Yellow Cab Company, 2017). It can be useful for people who need to travel to the airport and does not want to use their cars because of traffic problems and high costs of parking in case a person needs to be absent for a long time. The yellow Cab also provides school transportation. It addresses the worries of parents concerning the transportation of their children to school and back or other locations. Thus, the company suggests secure and reliable transportation for the children of all ages. One more service provided by the Yellow Cab is wheelchair transportation (Yellow Cab Company, 2017). While community services provide access for elderly or disabled citizens within the community, travelling long distances can become a problem because public transportation does not always support wheelchair transportation. The Yellow Cab suggests properly equipped cars to meet the needs of people who have to use wheelchair.
Finally, another strength of the company is its green policy. The Yellow Cab Company has been promoting the recycling of its used motor oil for about a decade. Moreover, the aged batteries are utilized properly. They are returned to the auto parts store. Also, the company provides the recycling of scrap metal. All those interventions are not only ecologically-friendly, but economically-grounded because planned recycling helps to save costs.
Weaknesses
One of the weaknesses of the company is workplace safety. Nguen and Said (2012) provide a research studying workplace safety issues of taxi drivers and are concerned about health and safety of drivers. For example, the research revealed that some drivers on the whole and those of the Yellow Cab in particular drink more coffee than it is healthy because they need to be alert. Also, drivers themselves admit the lack of safety and danger of being attacked (“Yellow Cab Company employee reviews,” 2017).
Customer service is another weakness reported by the customers of the Yellow Cab. The cars do not arrive on time or do not arrive at all. Moreover, the cars are frequently not clean and worn and the drivers are rude.
The functioning of application for android mobile devices is another weakness of the company. Although the introduction of the application is a step forward in technological development of the company, it does not always work properly. The customers complain of the program sending cabs to wrong addresses or sending them late. Lateness is not acceptable for taxi service because people who order a car are usually in a hurry and would not be satisfied with delays.
Recommendations
Several recommendations can be suggested for the Yellow cab to improve the service and help them maintain the customer base they have had for years. First of all, technology should become company’s focus. New taxi services provide a full range of services including Wi-Fi in a cab, on-line orders of a car, and non-cash payments. The Yellow Cab company makes some steps in this direction, but they are not enough to remain competitive in the contemporary market. Secondly, more attention should be payed to customer service. People are ready to pay for high quality service with clean cabs arriving on time. Moreover, they would appreciate polite drivers and some bonuses, for example discount cards for loyal customers. Finally, the company should be more attentive to its employees. Drivers are the face of the company, so they should provide a good impression. Thus, drivers should nor work overtime to maintain their health and be attentive on the road that is also a guarantee of customers’ safety. Moreover, it is important to take care of the cars to keep them clean and working properly. Thus, the company should provide better service for the cabs.
References
Adler, B. (2014). Why cabs and car-sharing are good for the environment. Web.
Hawkins, A. (2016).Yellow taxis have a new weapon in their war against Uber: Gadgets. Web.
Ho, T., Chong, J., & Xia, X. (2017). Yellow taxis have fewer accidents than blue taxis because yellow is more visible than blue.Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, 114(12), 3074-3078. Web.
Nguen, M., & Said, R. (2012). Workplace safety issues of San Diego taxi drivers: What about their health & safety? Web.
Yellow Cab Company employee reviews. (2017). Web.
Yellow Cab Company. (2017). Services. Web.