Shuttleworth firm backs SA Cab
Sep 19 2007 03:34 PM
Melissa Britz
Cape Town - HBD Venture Capital, started by local entrepreneur and afronaut Mark Shuttleworth, has invested R10m in a local metered taxi operator.
The company started by Shuttleworth in 2000 invests in early stage SA companies with high growth potential.
Eben van Heerden, portfolio manager at HBD Venture Capital said: "...With the 2010 World Cup set to attract floods of visitors and the government spending R28bn on public transport projects such as the Gautrain, there is a growing demand for a safe, efficient alternative to private cars."
SA Cab plans to expand its current operations to become a national metered taxi network that delivers a world-class service.
SA cab operates a number of its own cabs so it understands the industry. "But the true jewel in its crown is its independant call centre run by Diplomat Navigator (pty) which can, for the first time in SA, connect taxi operators throughout the country via a tollfree number and GPS tracking", said Van Heerden.
Craig Robinson, CEO of SA Cab, told Finweek's Ben Kelly that its call centre technology is very effective. "Before we installed it, we conducted extensive research in Britain and the US and chose a solution that could be tailored to the SA market."
We chose the Diplomat booking and dispatch software sytem supplied by Navigator Software systems in the UK. www.navigator-metro.com
Stewart Harding Technical Director of the SA call centre has been largely responsible for the development of management and hardware solutions appropriate for the South African Markets.
Independent taxi operators pay a fee to subscribe to the call centre business (Diplomat Navigator PTY), they are then connected via a cellular data link manufactured by Diplomat Ltd in the UK. www.diplomat.co.uk.
This device called the Lynx box relays GPS and Fare data to the contact centre. Using that link and mapping software, the centre is able to determine which vehicle is best located to serve the customer and that taxi is dispatched.
Safety concerns are a major consideration for SA Cab.
"We found that incredibly strict screening processes are built into the call centre technology. Each day, when the GPRS is switched on in a taxi, a number of details are checked including whether the driver's license is valid and whether personal insurance is fully paid."
"All cars must obtain a new roadworthy certificate and be registered in terms of public transport requirements. If any requirements are not met, the taxi is no longer able to operate in the SA Cab network."
