The MT Conferences section did not involve the reporting or the editorial staff of The Moscow Times.
Vladislav Ezopov
Head of PR & GR
ASAP Transportation Company Company LLC
The development of transportation infrastructure in Moscow is well on its way. New roads, transportation junctions and parking lots are constantly being constructed, and all necessary means are taken in order to make driving through the city comfortable for private car owners as well as for public transport drivers. The Department of Transportation and Development of Transportation Infrastructure of Moscow City performs a colossal work to ensure comfort of all passengers. The department purchases new buses, trams, trolleybuses and metro cars, establishes new metro stations, makes special road lines for public transport on the streets of the city. Just for taxi cabs the city made 373 parking lots. The fitting-out of the public transport is worth to be mentioned separately. It has become normal that public transport vehicles are equipped with air conditioning systems and Wi-Fi. Navigation systems and audio- and video recorders have become an integral part of public transportation vehicles.
The individual passenger transportation market has also begun to require innovation technologies. Taxi companies on the competitive market with many illegal private taxis have to have distinct advantages over the latter. The official taxis have to ensure the maximum levels of comfort and security to their customers; they need to form and constantly improve their standards.
Some companies have initially chosen the way of automation of all its business processes. They have thus minimized human resources and optimized time expenditure. The taxi cab can be called by phone via a contact-center or using a mobile application. The message to inform the passenger that the car has arrived can be made by automatic voice-call or by SMS. A complicated system of different information flows forms an effective IT infrastructure. The cloud format of our IT resources enabled us to shorten the time of launching our office and significantly reduce capital and operating expenditures. Apart from cloud technologies, the company has integrated CRM and Infinity systems, which ensure effective communication with the customers, management of the car fleet and quick response of the contact center. The navigation system allows for optimal spreading of orders among the taxi cabs.
Our cars are equipped not only with GPS, but also with three independent tracking devices which allows to prevent the loss of data, to provide better passenger security and to follow the optimal route. It dramatically raises the level of confidence and loyalty to the company. The constant audio and video record are led inside our cars. This makes drivers more disciplined and allows to avoid conflicts in disputable situations. The acquiring system of the partner bank allows payments by bank cards through Pay-Me system or through the personal account on our web-site. You could also pay for our services from your e-wallet and by accumulated points of loyalty programs.
Despite the advantages of new technologies, the risk of system errors is always present. Too many factors are involved — voltage surges, power cuts, internet breakdowns etc. This is why it is necessary to provide 24-hours control by IT specs servicing the system.
Only big market players can allow for the implementation and service of such technologies and thus correspond to the highest standards of the taxi services.
Aggregator companies don't have their own car fleet, yet they are legitimate players on the individual transportation market and work as partners together with the owners of taxi companies and self-employed entrepreneurs representing the legal taxi market. They consolidate orders using information technologies from sites, mobile applications and phones. After processing the received orders the system chooses the car closest to the service point and corresponding to the request and then it sends the order to the driver.
One could definitely say that in the nearest future the implementation of the newest technologies and constant improvement of services of quality legal taxies will drive out the illegal operators from the market, because these ones are only able to compete at the level of prices.
Today, the situation on the Moscow market is getting better and better. More than 40,000 licenses have already been issued. This amount is now really close to the amount of 50,000 — 55,000, which, according to the market specialists, is the perfect quantity of taxis to cover the needs of Moscow.
The MT Conferences section did not involve the reporting or the editorial staff of The Moscow Times.
