Yellow Cab of Columbus Ohio taps Verizon for a competitive edge in the sharing economy

Today, Verizon announced a relationship with Columbus Yellow Cab to automate and streamline the cab reservation and payment process for its full fleet of cabs and drivers across Ohio. Columbus Yellow Cab will use Verizon’s Share solution, designed to provide an easy entry to the sharing economy through IoT-enabled platform technology to support state-wide management of its growing fleet of vehicles.

Yellow Cab’s drivers, known as Driver Partners, will leverage Verizon’s Share Solution to more easily locate and rent available cabs, creating an on-demand, self-service approach to gaining access to vehicles. Normally, Driver Partners lease vehicles from Yellow Cab on a daily, weekly or longer basis, forcing Driver Partners to repeat basic administrative duties and adding wait times to passenger pickups. Verizon’s Share solutions save Yellow Cab’s drivers time and money by enabling fleet sharing city-wide.

Said Morgan Kauffman, CEO of Yellow Cab, “At Columbus Yellow Cab, we strive to provide the best possible experience, not only for our riders, but also for our Driver Partners. Verizon’s Share solutions will help us further this goal by evolving fleet management technology for our dedicated team of drivers and facilitating easier vehicle reservation and tracking across the board.”

The continued growth of ride sharing services and applications coupled with changing demographics and social preferences have encouraged cab companies, fleet managers and transportation providers to continue to innovate and stay competitive in the sharing economy – whether it’s bicycle sharing, last-mile commuting services, rental equipment or transportation on campuses or at events, the new sharing economy is here to stay. Key drivers of the sharing economy are:

• Changing demographics and social preferences, including on-demand and self-service expectations, less “ownership” and more sharing of assets. 
• Shift from ownership to “user-ship”, sharing is creating the start of a transformation in the way we think about supply and demand, but it's also a part of a massive value shift underway. Instead of owning something, consumers are focused on the value they get from using it, leading to more renting and sharing and less buying.
• New technology advancements have allowed for consumers using any device to access real-time information on door-to-door, multi-modal travel including pre-trip, in-trip and post-trip services from municipalities and vendors of all kinds.
• New revenue opportunities: enterprises are realizing the value of implementing sharing solutions with benefits including new revenue streams, reduced operational expenses and an improved customer experience.

In addition to Yellow Cab, other companies working with Verizon’s Share Solutions platform to reduce congestion, create “on-demand” self-service experiences, streamline services and help monetize idle assets include The Santa Clara Transportation Authority (VTA) and Swiftmile, the electronic bike (ebike) service; CruCar, a car sharing solution for airline crews, and A.A.S. Technologies, a security, networking and audio visual company.

Said Mike Toto, Product Director of IoT Solutions at Verizon, “Our work with Columbus Yellow Cab is yet another example of a private fleet owner improving asset usage and customer satisfaction by providing a better, friendlier on-demand experience — one that they’ve come to expect in the new sharing economy. We’re seeing rental car companies, dealerships as well as public and private fleet owners in construction; recreation and even on university campuses implement similar solutions to stay ahead of the competition and provide services and experiences fit for the 21^st century.”

Verizon’s work with Yellow Cab is one of many efforts underway to ensure the city of Columbus is technologically equipped and at the forefront of smart communities technology and services for its citizens.