Roadrunners gain 50 vehicles and increase bookings by

30% with Autocab

Roadrunners, based in Croydon, were established around thirty years ago before being took over by Stuart Wilkinson back in the nineties. It wasn’t too long before Jamie and Ben Wilkinson joined the team to make it a family run business. They cover a large area which includes most of the densely populated SE postcode of London. The aim of Roadrunners is to provide a prompt and high level of service to their customers who demand up to 14,000 jobs per week between them which adequately serves Roadrunners 200 strong fleet.

Roadrunners dispatch over half a million jobs per year with 90% of those within ten minutes. It is service like this that helps them maintain a substantial lead over their competitors. However, to do this, they need a system that can handle this volume of work with speed and efficiency. That system comes in the form of Ghost dispatch from Autocab. Ghost can not only easily dispatch high volumes of work with ease but can also improve overall business efficiency and operations. Ghost is a huge improvement on their last system which would struggle and crash during busy periods.

Roadrunners have seen a significant increase in business since they switched to Autocab and installed Ghost two years ago. In fact,

the overall increase currently stands at 30%. For in that time they have gained fifty drivers taking their fleet from 150 to 200 vehicles. Their weekly bookings have also increased by around 30%. Jaime who is delighted with the company’s progress since the installation of Ghost speaks on behalf of Roadrunners to offer a review of their development since going live with Ghost. He told us…

Ghost is so good it’s almost cheating

“…Providing an outstanding service to our customers is of paramount importance. We provide a local ASAP service with 99% of our customers wanting a car straight away. This put a large strain on our last system which would crash during busy periods. The first weekend we installed Ghost, in a one hour period, we completed nearly one hundred more jobs than any other. Ghost didn’t even break sweat. No matter how much work we throw at it the system churns through it. For us it was a game changer as we could now do something we had never been able to do before. We are able to offer a speed and efficiency that our competitors can’t. Ghost is so good it’s almost cheating…

30% of calls on Phantom

…Autocab has improved overall efficiency. Phantom IVR takes 30% of the workload. We

all love how Ghost can be configured to our company needs. If there is a feature we don’t use it gets hidden but if there is something we do use its there at the touch of a button…”

The Premium app is the way forward

If that wasn’t enough Roadrunners are looking to expand their business further with the introduction of the Premium app. They are already taking hundreds of bookings per month with the app and are looking forward to developing that further…

“…We feel the booking app is the future of private hire and we would not consider having not having one and we think the Premium app will have a big impact…”

Autocab is the best decision we have ever made

“…Autocab is the best decision we have ever made. I think it’s worth mentioning that as owners we are actually selling this system to drivers as much as staff and customers. Our drivers are happier because the auto dispatch is fair and they can all make more money. This is the most important thing for owners to remember…”

Nearly 200 firms have switched to Autocab from

another system

Nearly two hundred taxi firms in the UK and Ireland have switched to Autocab from another system. That is more than any other on the market. This is testament to Autocab’s leading role within the industry. Many firms in the UK prefer Autocab over other system providers for the reliability, usability and profitability values.

Mayday Cars go live with Ghost

Mayday Cars in London, are the latest firm to switch to Autocab. They did so after encountering a host of issues caused by their previous system which unfortunately led to drivers leaving and a loss of business. With extortionate support costs Mayday Cars were left with little choice but to look elsewhere for a solution. They required a solution that would not only rectify the damage but enable them to compete with the best. They found that solution in the form of Autocab Ghost dispatch software and PDA data head.

Improve efficiency with Ghost

Ian Andrews, Manager/owner at Mayday Cars, was keen to express his opinion on the differences between their previous system and the newly installed Autocab system after going live recently. He was quick to point out the advantages that Autocab Ghost dispatch has brought to his business by not only eradicating certain issues, caused by the preceding system, but improving overall efficiency and operations. He delivered a sterling review of Autocab following a brief mention of life under the previous system. Wishing not to dwell on negative matters better left in the past he soon progressed to the subject at hand which would appear to be a new era for Mayday Cars, he told us…

“…Due to a downturn in business caused by our previous system and extortionate support costs we decided it was time to switch to Autocab.

We got Autocab in to assess the situation. We were so relieved when they could provide a solution for us and were very impressed with all involved. Chris Akinbile, Business Development Manager for Autocab, pulled out all the stops for us and his customer service was excellent. Add that to performance of Salman Zaidi, Installation Manager for Autocab, and his team and we have some very good service indeed…

Ghost is far more advanced than the last system

…Ghost dispatch from Autocab is far more advanced than the previous system. Autocab is geared for a successful taxi firm. We are particularly looking forward to maximising efficiency, with the management and accounts suite in Ghost, by utilising electronic invoicing. This will save us a lot of time as our weekly accounts work is substantial…

Drivers are always in business with Autocab

…Maintaining contact with dispatch is of huge importance to our drivers. With Autocab they never loose contact and therefore are always in business, unlike our last system. We can now focus on going forward and expanding our business and we are confident we have the system to do so. It is fair to say we are very excited about what the future holds for us here at Mayday Cars…”

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Roadrunners MiniCabs – Croydon improve business by 30% in 2 years with Autocab

GPC Computer Software, Cheadle Royal Business Park, Oakfield Road, Cheadle, SK8 3GX F:+44 (0) 161 491 7777 E: info@autocab.com W: autocab.com

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Tel: +44 (0) 161 491 77 77 Fax: +44 (0) 161 491 77 11 Email: info@autocab.com Web: autocab.com

Autocab is the world’s leading dispatch system

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Mayday Cars – London switch to Autocab

#autocabexpress

#autocabexpress

Autocab is the world’s leading dispatch system with over 1000 clients

worldwide (830 in the UK & Ireland)

Autocab is firmly established as the world’s market leader in taxi booking, dispatch and fleet management systems. We are currently operating in twenty countries and our international customer base is growing every day. This is supported by our extensive international department through either fully staffed Autocab offices or specially selected international agents, who act as official distributors of the Autocab system.

As our international business has grown over recent years we have appointed a special team to co-ordinate overseas activity – this team consists of multilingual administrators, project engineers and other senior staff. We have been able to achieve this only because of our extensive customer base in the UK & Ireland. The feedback received from our customers has been instrumental in the system’s development making it not only the first choice for taxi firms in the UK but across the globe.

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Local Cars go live with Ghost

Local Cars in London, who recently went live with Ghost after switching from their previous system, have exceptionally high praise for Autocab. In fact, according to Manager Imran Kahn, “Autocab is the world’s best system”. He believes he is more than qualified to judge this having worked with many other systems on market during his career in the taxi industry. Having made the decision to switch to Autocab he and his team are now confident they are equipped to take the business to the next level and look forward to a bright future. Despite only going live recently Local Cars are already feeling the positive influence that their new system has introduced to their business.

Imran, who has been busy developing plans to expand the business, was eager to highlight some of the initial benefits brought in by Ghost dispatch from Autocab. He was quick to mention how the drivers seemed to be the first to notice an improvement in operations.

With a tone of excitement he told us….

“…I believe Autocab is the world’s best system. I have worked with many different systems and Autocab is the best for me. We are operating more efficiently than ever before but I think the main impact that Autocab has had upon our business is dispatch and allocation of jobs. The job distribution is fair and the drivers are very happy. Now our fleet is much more disciplined and well organised…

Excellent training and service from Autocab

…The training and service from Autocab has been superb. Chris Akinbile (Autocab rep) has been a top person and really helpful. We are looking forward to a good relationship…”

Local Cars are in the zone with Autocab

Since Imran Kahn had mentioned about the usefulness of Zones, when pressed to comment on the most beneficial aspects of Autocab, it presented an excellent opportunity to examine the subject in some detail. In order to maximise the efficiency of fleet management, your coverage, for example the North West of London, is broken down in to smaller and more manageable areas which are called zones. Each zone will have numerous vehicles which will normally operate within the boundaries of that zone. The zones are predetermined during installation where a highly experienced Autocab

engineer will coordinate with the management team to plot the zones in the most logical way. What makes the zoning facility so intelligent is the ability to set the parameters for each zone and that they can be modified at any given time to suit your requirements. For example, jobs can be dispatched to vehicles based on ‘longest waiting’ or ‘nearest available car’. This is especially useful during busy periods. Normally dispatch will be set to ‘longest waiting vehicle’ but at peak times it can be set to ‘nearest available vehicle’ which will reduce waiting time for customers.

Intelligent fleet management

These parameters can be set to one of, all of, or groups of zones. This can take moments. Another example is the tolerance of each zone boundary. A vehicle may be operating on or close to the border of one or more zones, Ghost allows the user to add a buffer or tolerance to avoid cars jumping in and out of plots.

Improve driver earnings and bookings

This ingenious method of fleet management is controlled by the advanced dispatch software in Ghost which utilises GPS technology to locate vehicles and zones in real time. It not only ensures a fair distribution of jobs amongst drivers, improving their earnings as it does so, but reduces dead mileage and customer waiting time. The end result is a private hire taxi firm operating at peak performance and maximising profitability whilst delivering a high end service to its customers.

Save 1½ days per week on invoicing

Greenlight Cars in Kent, who switched to Autocab and went live six months ago, have been delighted with their progress whilst enjoying a range of improvements to their business since the switch. Even in the first few days following the installation Trevor Parker, Director at Greenlight Cars, noticed some vast enhancements to the overall efficiency and performance of the business. Most notably, as far as Trevor was concerned, was a distinct reduction in the time spent on the accounting and in particular invoicing. In fact, as time progressed, Trevor recorded the accumulating hours that were being saved in processing invoices with Ghost accounts and compared them to the time spent on invoicing with the previous system. A most interesting discovery was made. They were saving approximately one and a half days per week. This was accompanied by a host of other benefits that were brought in with Ghost.

Really useful updates from Autocab

In previous feedback, supplied by Trevor Parker at the time of going live, he had complained that ‘time had simply stood still’ with the last system. The software was rarely updated (if at all) and they were still using the same system after five years of use. The team at Greenlight Cars were delighted that this was certainly not the case with Autocab’s Ghost dispatch system as they realised early on that updates would be a regular occurrence. Not wishing to dwell on the short comings of the previous supplier Trevor was keen to provide an updated account of the more positive outlook since switching to Autocab. Pleased to offer us some renewed feedback he delivered this enthusiastic report, saying…

It was cheaper to switch to Autocab than upgrade

with our last system

“…When you take a leap of faith and change dispatch systems it’s a big step for any company no matter how large or small. The cost needs to be considered very carefully. The fact that it was actually cheaper to switch to Autocab Ghost than upgrade our old system made the “financial” decision very simple. However, we all know that

whilst important, not many of us would make this decision based on finances alone. There are many more aspects to changing, reliability being one support being another and will I ever see this “rep” again?

Booking app from Autocab has taken off really well

Greenlight Cars have been using ghost for 6 months now and I have to say that even after the initial euphoria we are still delighted. Chris Akinbile “the rep” rings me almost every week & pops in about once a month to see how we are getting on. We have now installed the Booking App and it has taken off really well. We get regular system updates. Not the ones that just make it work properly but really useful features such as “we can now text a job directly to our drivers mobile in the event of comms failure” this is really useful and was included in our free regular upgrade. This is a very powerful piece of software and sometimes we don’t all grasp everything the first time round. Chris Akinbile arranged further training for us and we are now firing on all cylinders and are about to install “Cab Exchange” another new feature.

Excellent service from Autocab rep Chris Akinbile

This is not an install it and leave it to run in the background piece of kit (although it could be), it is the essence of the company and as such can be tweaked and changed to suit every different user, every different shift and every occasion. Six months on, the dust has settled and I have to say that Autocab, Ghost & Chris Akinbile have all done what they said they would do and more...”

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Autocab is the world’s best system – say Local Cars – London

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Six months with Autocab & it’s all systems go for Greenlight Cars - Kent

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Local Autocab representative for London

is Chris Akinbile

Chris Akinbile has been serving Autocab with distinction for nearly three years. During his time here he has been responsible for supporting current clients and potential clients in and around the London area. His hard work and diligence has earned him regular praise for his efforts by customers and colleagues alike. His extensive experience has helped him deliver a continued high level of service to his customers often working in his own time to ensure customer satisfaction. He is continually in contact with his clients, whether it be to deal with their requests or simply to ‘catch up’, he is always available. Chris is on hand to advise and support your company’s development and progress and is happy to help should you wish to expand your business. To contact Chris Akinbile directly please call 07787 501 034.

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Autocab have more choice of products than any other

system provider on the market. Visit autocab.com

to see our full range.

#autocabexpress