Three Magic Words - A New Way to Book A Cab
Road signs and addresses were ground-breaking when they were first conceived but they’re no longer the most efficient way of describing where you are. In a world of driverless trucks and same-day drone deliveries, we need a system that is more exacting to avoid error and improve efficiencies.
Believe it or not, a system for this has existed since 2013 but it is only in the past couple of years that it's been adopted on a wider scale.
Described by the BBC as “the app that can save your life”, what3words (W3W) is one of the most useful digital tools that you’ve probably never heard of. It is a geotagging tool that divides the entire planet into uniquely labelled 3 metre squares. While it’s a simple concept it has proved vital as a tool for emergency services, particularly in search and rescue operations.
Recently, Nottinghamshire Police saved three teenagers who became stuck in freezing quicksand. Part of the rescue operation involved the police supporting the teens over the phone to download W3W so that rescue teams could successfully locate them. Without W3W it’s highly likely that there wouldn’t have been a positive end to that story.
A quick glance at their ‘what3words for emergencies: real-life stories’ is testament to just how incredibly useful this tool is. Emergency services across the globe now readily use W3W tags to locate those in need of their help.
With such success in life and death situations, it was only a matter of time before W3W was adopted for commercial uses. One of the main sectors that are primed to benefit are transport and logistics.
Making journeys easier
If you’re a taxi driver in a rural area, you’ve no doubt come across the problem of getting lost. As good as satnav systems are they aren’t designed for the countryside. Post codes in the country tend to cover extremely large areas and houses at the end of farm tracks are not the easiest to find. If you get lost en route, lack of signal can make contacting the passenger for directions almost impossible.
W3W helps combat all these problems. By enabling passengers to give their exact location to drivers it shaves time off the journey for them, improving the customer experience but also saving on fuel costs.
The technology behind W3W can easily integrate with online booking systems used by operators. This is most clearly evidenced in its integration with ‘EasyTaxi,’ the largest e-hailing app in Latin America. W3W integration has made it easier for millions of users to connect with drivers across these regions daily.
Operators and chaffeur services across the UK have been adopting the technology to help improve their customer experience. October 2020 also users of Uber with certain voice-activated devices gain the ability to order a pick-up by just saying their W3W address. It seems it is only a matter of time until this integration becomes universal.
What3words? ///inch.arrow.tender
We’re hoping universal adoption of W3W will happen sooner rather than later.
Back in the days when going to the office was normal, the TaxiPlus team were big fans of a cheeky lunchtime takeaway. But being in a newly built office in Blackburn means that takeaways and taxis always struggle to find us.
‘One Cathedral Quarter, The Boulevard’ doesn’t mean much to a lot of our local drivers because TaxiPlus’ building hasn’t been there long. Consequently, we’ve all experienced standing outside in the rain frantically trying to direct a driver to us before our lunch break ends!
We aren’t aware of any Blackburn taxi firms or takeaways that use W3W but if they did, it would make their lives a lot easier! ///inch.arrow.tender is the W3W address for the TaxiPlus office and it would take them directly to the pickup and drop off point directly outside our building.
If any of our local takeaways or taxi firms want to take note, please do! You can check out exactly how what3words can benefit your operation, here.
For more information on how TaxiPlus’ licensing compliance solutions can help you, get in touch at hello@taxiplus.co.uk