By Mark Bramston, Managing Director NZ Taxi Communications
Feedback on this Money Making article series is welcomed. If you want to suggest other ways and means or ask questions, then I would like to hear from you. If this raises other things about the taxi industry that I can share or work on, then I will post responses on the web. Notice I never mentioned any app Cab names or references. I am not focusing on the others and their ways. This thread is about taxis and making sure this model adapts and stays part of the future. Please use the driver engagement contact form to the right of this article.
I have a growing interest in the structural changes that need to be made for our taxi business model to remain part of the future. By this I mean the changes that need to be made to the organisations and contracts to which drivers belong – as members, shareholders and partners. I think the contract driver model is flawed and open to real abuse. The employee driver similarly has problems and issues. So, is there an ideal model?
Here is a thought – Will smart contracts become part of the taxi model? If you have an opinion, then I would like to hear from you. I would like to write an article on this topic if there is any industry interest?
To warm you up on this topic – Europe is starting to look at mixing employee conditions with contractor driver flexibility to offer more minimum conditions. This is the way. But how are these things policed and regulated to ensure fairness and compliance? How do drivers get equity and value in their business? Are your company shares still valuable? Will the smart contract idea work and be a viable solution? Can we rely on Governments to try and get things to work? I want to think that there is an industry solution here that can define the future. Do you?