FAQsFrequent Misconceptions about Texxi and the DRT Exchange

But this has been done before

Actually, prior to 2006, "it" had not been done before. Anywhere. And not through lack of trying.It was deemed as an insoluble problem by many transport academics such as Jim Morris of CMU. Even in April 2009 and later in 2010, key figures in transport research were still claiming it was impossible. We have proof that we achieved the "impossible"

There are lots of taxi hailing start-ups

Yes there areHailo, Kabbee, GetTaxi, Uber, Weeels, (just so you know we know)

Since we enable GROUPED TRAVEL, the hail by (smart)phone is just one thing. And it does not have to be just a car or a taxi - any vehicle. It is a bit like saying you have invented the automobile just because you have invented the wheel. Sure the wheel is part of the solution, but it is not the solution in and of itself.

There are lots of taxi hailing start-ups

Hailing a cab by smartphone, the web or SMS just is not interesting and that particular problem was solved as far back as 2002 - 2005. We saw an example in Prague in 2005 for instance. While a subset of our system could replicate any of functionality the afore-mentioned companies, fortunately it is not (only) what we do. The most impressive getup we have seen is Limores / Groundlink by Alex Mashinsky. That man is something else.

There are lots of taxi hailing start-ups

It becomes interesting when combined with● a grouping mechanism● a social network to give people a measure of control

over who they do share with (ratings feedback)● a way to rate the vehicle service provider and the

overall user experience (ratings feedback)● a mechanism to dynamically price seats in a vehicle

based on time of day● a way to congestion charge by ride seat priceThe key things are the "grouping", "social network", "dynamic pricing" and the "futures exchange" concepts.

So is Texxi the Exchange or the hailing app?

It is both! The hailing mechanism branding is "The (Shared) Taxi You Text" The DRT Exchange branding is "Transit Exchange for the XXI Century"

So is Texxi the Exchange or the hailing app?

Sometimes we have to double (or triple) as the liquidity provider, marketing agent AND interface application provider. And thus we use "Texxi - the Taxi you Text" as the marketing hook for the "hailing" bit. If we were to white-label, only the "Transit Exchange for the XXI Century" branding would be visible, since we would be using generic other hailing technologies.

How do you get people to share ?

By making the whole price per seat per ride significantly cheaper than it is currently By allowing people to book rides ahead and recoup some or all their money if they cannot make the trip. To give people assured rides in the future (something few taxi firms do), much like an airline, train company or long distance coach company does To allow people to buy "ride insurance" to protect them in the case of illness or other emergency.

And what if someone does not want to share?

They do not have to if they do not want to.We believe in choice. And the attendant consequences. They can either try and get a ride the good old fashioned way (tough at periods of high demand) or not ride at all.

Or they can buy all the seats in a vehicle, much like people can charter a boat or an aircraft all to themselves. At periods of peak demand, e.g. Paddington cabshare scheme, getting a ride at all in 30 mins has a significant value all in itself.

But buying all the seats would be too expensive

Actually - at periods of high demand (like Paddington station at morning rush-hour), rather than tell people they cannot have a cab by themselves, just charge them the true demand price.People will then make the decision themselves to share when it is £5 vs £30.The market will tell us how badly people want to ride alone when that price comparison exists.If corporations then start buying many whole cab rides for their people, then the cab fleet can dynamically expand to meet the demand (as long as the market is allowed to work)Places such as Kings Cross (where cabshare has failed) could be tried again with the Market Maker ideas.

How do you get to critical mass?

By using the idea of a Market Maker to do dynamic ride-matching in real-time. Matching supply and demand through an exchange construct is one of the reasons we were able to demonstrate a working system when all others had failed. We use the Market Makers to provide liquidity to the exchange to facilitate the trading.

But what about security / safety?

A shared taxi is no less safe than a shared bus or train ride And since there is *some* way to find a passenger who is in the cab (not the case with buses or trains), it is no more dangerous. If people don't want others to see where they live they can be picked up / dropped off at a bus-stop near to where they live

But rich people don't want to share

Of course they don't. But they still do. Look around a first or business class cabin of an airline. Many people sharing there.Or private jet charters. With the social network, people can choose a maximum number of co-riders (from no-one to the full capacity of the specific vehicle)

But rich people don't want to share

Plenty of people who are not rich (the majority) would still use the system. We heard that no-one would share and then watched those very same people consent to share with strangers.

But 25% is a lot to take from the drivers

Think of it, instead, as the cab driver makes 75% of the total. Well if we make a cab driver 3 times the money he would usually make (z), then taking 25% of the 3*z leaves 2.25*z for the driver. We get 0.75z That is hardly greedy. We make 25% because we increase his earnings. Normal booking firms take 5% - 15% for no extra money made for the driver.

What does a licence buyer get?

A 50% share of the 25% revenue cut in the locale where the licence is operating, MINUS operating costs - perhaps 30% - 50% of this amount. Our "knowhow" and contract staff (supplied from Crane Dragon) Knowhow is operational methods, experience and use of patents. What we offer is a set of tactics to make the system work since it is NOT trivial.