August 21, 2008

Ever thought about what long distance taxis do coming back from an airport run, or another out of town journey?  If, like me you assume that many would come home empty you’d be right.  This is where www.emptycabs.com comes in. 

Empty Cabs is a free online service that is aimed at reducing carbon emissions and making taxis more efficient, by helping them spend less driving time empty.  It is simply a message board where anyone looking to book a taxi, to the airport for example, can be put in touch with a cab that may be passing nearby on its way to pick up from that airport.  The scheme runs on a discount basis, with taxis’ getting money for a journey that they wouldn’t have been charging for and passengers able to negotiate a reduced price before they board.

Mike O’Connor, the brains behind the scheme said: “With regards to pricing and savings it really is for the client to discuss with the cab driver, hopefully 50% will be achievable and then everybody wins. What we have seen is quite a few contacts being made from cabs that are not exactly passing the clients door but the drivers are prepared to pop off their route a little in exchange for fares they would not have seen otherwise.

He adds: “It is a not for profit site, it only went live yesterday and I am hoping that it in being a genuinely useful it will self perpetuate. We do not sell any memberships to the taxi companies it is free for them also.  With diesel pricing as it is currently going I hope it is worth the drivers while to have a quick look over the message board before they leave for a journey.”

Running with a similar model to the liftshare scheme, once word of the service, and especially the cheap fares, gets around emptycabs.com could soon see itself filling otherwise empty taxis.

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