The TaxiPlus Taxi Summit Round Up: Our Thoughts on Dotted’s Inaugural Trade Event

The 16th of March saw the first Dotted ‘Taxi Summit’ trade event. Despite being held virtually, there was a palpable atmosphere from the attendees and great engagement throughout the day. As many of us are getting ‘Zoom-lag’, the prospect of attending another boring digital event was definitely at the back of our minds. Fortunately, our concern was misplaced.  

Hosted by the charismatic Azmat Sherwani, Dotted’s CEO, his energy and enthusiasm helped set the tone for the day and what would be a memorable event. Hosted on the Airmeet platform, attendees were not just passive participants, there were digital stalls and tables allowing demonstrations and networking, helping bring some sense of normalcy to the proceedings.  

The main events of the day were three talks from industry leaders about the biggest issues in the taxi and private hire sector right now. Kicking off the day was a discussion of the Uber/Autocab acquisition, followed by the ‘Future of Taxi’ and closing the day was a run-down of the industry's pandemic response. If you weren’t able to catch the event, we’ve recapped the key talking points from each discussion.  

Uber/Autocab Acquisition  

This discussion was headed up by Tom Peyerls, CEO of Cordic, alongside Bob Nixon, CEO of iCabbi, two of the largest dispatch providers in the UK. Without a doubt, this is the news on everyone's minds and definitely prompted some impassioned discussions from speakers and attendees.  

Kicking off the talk was a pointed discussion of Autocab’s absence from proceedings. Autocab had published an article earlier in the year decrying the TaxiSummit event, as they had not been invited to share their thoughts. Our host, Azmat, quickly put this to bed by demonstrating that they had in fact invited Autocab to speak, multiple times, but had not been given a response.  

If you’re unfamiliar with the news of this acquisition, we’ve broken it down in more detail here. The overwhelming view of those involved is that this acquisition is bad news. A live poll revealed that around 90% of attendees considered this development a threat to the future of the industry. A hard merger of the dominant ride-hailing app and the foremost dispatch software provider is likely to create unfair competition.  

The other concern was regarding Uber’s access to customer data. Uber are one of the world's largest data controllers and through the acquisition of Autocab are set to become a dominant force in the UK market. Having access to unprecedented amounts of consumer data could allow them to predict trends and ultimately shape the industry to suit them.  

Understandably, this acquisition has been reported to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA is currently investigating and should be publishing their results this week.  

Future of Taxi  

The next talk on the books was the ‘Future of Taxi’. After a morning discussing the Uber/Autocab dilemma, looking at the future of the industry with a wider lens was a pleasant change of pace. This session was headed up by a trio of experts: Boris Pilichowski, Karhoo Co-CEO, David Hunter, CEO Take ME (Group) and Andy Pennock, Veezu COO.  

Perhaps because of the previous talk, the first point of discussion was the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding Uber drivers being classed as workers. While the ruling is good news for Uber drivers, it leaves a lot unanswered. For example, rules around paying minimum wage from the moment the app starts have been brought in, but where does this leave those that drive for multiple apps? Probably a question that should be left for the Supreme Court to answer!  

The effects of COVID-19 on the future of the industry were also a major talking point. All the speakers predicted a ‘mini-boom’ for the industry following the re-opening of the hospitality sector followed by a tough 18 months as the wider economy begins to rectify itself post-pandemic.  

Electric and hybrid cabs were discussed as an inevitability for the industry. Adoption of this technology is a growing trend that shows no sign of slowing down. The biggest hurdle at this point is charging and price.  

For drivers living in high-rises or other inaccessible areas, charging isn’t exactly practical. The price of the vehicles also far outstrips those of their traditional competitors. However, as this technology is refined prices will decrease, and this is something we are starting to see already. Research suggests that electric vehicles will be as cheap to manufacture as regular models by 2024.  

Pandemic Response  

Not surprising that this talk was on the line-up for the day, considering the industry has been one of the hardest hit of any in the UK. The speakers for this session included: Arnie Singh, Director of Caboodle; Simon Curtis, CEO of Curtis Gabriel; Chris Lever, Business Development Director of PMD Business Finance and Steve Wright MBE, Chairman of the LPHCA.  

Covid-19 has meant that the passenger transport industry has never been in such disarray. The government's lacklustre response to supporting the industry was widely covered. Delays in mandatory mask-wearing rules, clarification of key worker status and the suchlike means there was a lot of negative feeling towards the government.  

The industry itself has responded to the pandemic marvellously, given the circumstances. Operators have been utilising out of work drivers for other roles, such as delivery drivers and couriers to try and maintain income streams for their staff.  

The Future  

The success of the first Taxi Summit makes us confident that this is going to be the first of many. Dotted are also hosting an industry awards event in the heart of Manchester on the 6th of July. You can check out all the info for that here.  

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