Even though it might be a scarce sight, one might still experience the occasional, albeit minute, fleet of yellow and black taxis hustling and bustling around town. Yet, what used to be a dominant and flourishing private business has seemingly disappeared from the streets of major cities. So, what exactly were the reasons behind the steady downfall of the local cabs?
There was a time when booking a local taxi involved an intricate process of standing at the side of the street, waving at every passing yellow taxi, hoping that it was empty and then negotiating the price of the ride from the open window until either the driver agreed or the entire process started again. Nowadays, booking a cab is monumentally easier as one needs to order the service online through an application that allows the user to choose from a variety of price ranges and car types.
And, to make it even easier and budget-friendly for the Pakistani people, a new online cab service is eclipsing over the horizon, called the InDriver.
One does wonder about the reasons behind the flabbergasting success of online cab services.
History Behind the Yellow Cabs
The yellow cab scheme was initially launched by PM Nawaz Sharif in 1992 and was met with much enthusiasm as the population was increasingly growing tired of the battered and aged local taxis of the time, which were in poor running conditions. An article by The Christian Science Monitor in 1993 stated that there was an influx of about 51,000 brand new yellow cars in Pakistan, mainly of the Japanese or Korean make. The individual opting to take advantage of the scheme would pay 10% of the amount in down payment while the bank would finance the rest of the sum through bank loans. Mr. Sharif, at the time, regarded this scheme as one of his most important achievements as this scheme was going to provide jobs for the massive majority of unemployed people.
However, the Pakistani banks were unable to carry forward with the scheme as the owners of the cabs were unable to keep up with the installments. The banks gave an amount of about 15 billion rupees in loans and, according to one senior banker at the time, almost 70% of the cab owners had failed to maintain the payments.
The scheme was eventually called to quits 2 years, in 1994, after its launch by Prime Minister Moeen due to the lack of remittance from the cab owners.
The scheme was then revived and relaunched by Mr. Shahbaz Sharif in 2011-2012, aiming to provide jobs for the educated and unemployed. However, even though the government did not particularly stop the scheme, the second time around has not met with any particular success either. Largely due to the revolutionary online cabs service.
How Online Cabs Created a Monopoly
The first-ever online cab service was none other than Careem, which made its way from Dubai in 2015. Regardless of the initial skepticism by the locals, the service soon managed to plant strong roots as people solely opted for the cab instead of the alternative, which was a rickshaw or a trodden yellow Mehran. And just after a year, numerous big players like Uber too saw a flourishing market in Pakistan. It has been 7 years since then, and online cab services have created a well-established e-cabs industry in Pakistan. So how did they manage to take over such a huge sector of land transportation service in the country? Following are some of the reasons why:
Establishing a budget-friendly alternative
Why opt for a rickshaw or a Mehran/Bolan when you can pick from various exclusive cars, especially when they cost the same? Maybe even less.
This philosophy was strongly followed and gave online cabs a steep rise towards dominance in the transportation service sector. The idea was to offer the population better quality rides while at the same time setting the budget lower than the ongoing rates. This presented to be the better option, in all regards, to the general public.
Prioritizing the clients
Another homerun on behalf of the online cab services was catering to the opinions of their customers. When a person uses an online cab service, they are asked to rate the driver after the ride. If the customer was unhappy with the ride regardless of the reason, they are free to lodge a complaint and have an immediate response. Customer feedback proved to be somewhat essential in the rise of the e-cabs as it helped the people know that the service will aid them where necessary and is taking their complaints into consideration.
Epic customer support
Careem, as of yet, has proved to have one of the best customer support services amongst all its competition. The idea was to be available for the clients, day and night, and guide them or resolve their issues irrelevant of the time. The fact that any discrepancy will be held accountable and the person will face the consequences proved to increase the customer’s confidence and trust in the company.
Variety of options and price ranges
Another feature that proved to be grandly beneficial is the agglomeration of various cars, each available for the client at different price points. High-end vehicles with reasonable prices are available with just a click away for those who can afford them. And anyone low on budget can always opt for the minicab and pay a fraction for the same travel.
Local Taxis in the Age of E-Cabs
The fact that online cab services have performed a complete clean sweep on the local cabs is indisputable. According to an interview and survey conducted by Pakistan Today, most cabbies who are still working barely manage to make ends meet. Once they made 30 to 40 thousand a month, now they cannot make even half of that amount. Most of them go back home at the end with just a couple of tens or hundreds. A step into modernization has taken its toll on these poverty-stricken individuals and has made them even more impecunious.
However, some argue that it is all a matter of perspective. Pakistan has finally taken a step into the future and has opened a gateway for safe transportation for its people, including women, who, statistically, have been increasingly opting for these services when travelling alone.
Considering all the facts, we are left with a question regarding morality. Should we choose local taxis with zero guarantees of safety and pay extra so they can earn a living or select a much user/budget-friendly alternative that is safe and trustworthy in most aspects?
