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| industry = [[Transportation]]
| industry = [[Transportation]]
| products =
| products =
| services = [[Vehicles for hire]]
| services = [[Vehicles for hire]], [[Ridesharing]]
| revenue =
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| operating_income =

Revision as of 22:57, 2 May 2013

InstantCab
IndustryTransportation
Founded2012
FounderAarjav Trivedi
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Area served
San Francisco, California, United States
Key people
Aarjav Trivedi, CEO and Founder
ServicesVehicles for hire, Ridesharing
Website[1]

InstantCab is a mobile application that matches customers needing transportation with a taxi driver or a community driver who is willing to provide a ride.[1] Currently, InstantCab is available in San Francisco, California.[2] The app has provided more than 20,000 rides to date.[3]

History

The idea for InstantCab was born in 2012 after Aarjav Trivedi, its CEO and Founder, waited for over an hour for a bus and then a cab to take him to the airport.[4] He missed an international flight because both were late. [5] Trivedi created InstantCab to give people a simple, fast, reliable, and inexpensive way to get from A to B.[6]

During Winter 2012, InstantCab was selected to participate in Y Combinator’s funding cycle. Y Combinator is a company based in Mountain View, California that provides seed funding, advice, and connections to select start-ups.[7]

InstantCab’s offices are in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco.[8]

Structure of the App

The InstantCab customer app is currently available on iPhones and Android phones.[9] [10]

Customers can begin using InstantCab by signing up at instantcab.com or by downloading the app onto their mobile phone and signing up through the app.[11]

When customers open the InstantCab app on their phone, they can input their starting address on the map or the address bar and request a ride. The request is then sent to drivers. Drivers have 15 seconds to accept or reject the ride request. Once a driver accepts a request, there is no cancel button on the driver app that would enable the driver to cancel the request.

The customer is matched with the closest available taxi driver or community driver who accepts the request.[12] A community driver is a member of the community willing to provide car rides in his or her personal vehicle.[13] Once matched with the closest available driver, the customer sees a picture of the driver and the driver’s car on the app. The customer can also recognize a community driver by the InstantCab lighting bolt logo magnet displayed on the driver’s vehicle.

Drivers

Taxi drivers can sign up to drive for InstantCab at instantcab.com/drivers/taxi/ or by downloading the InstantCab driver app.[14] Taxi drivers can also get a credit card swiper from InstantCab for use with street hails.

Prospective community drivers can apply through instantcab.com/drivers/cd/. Community driver applicants must show proof of car insurance, undergo customer service training, and pass a background check and geography test.[15]

Pricing and Payments

Customers pay taxi drivers the fare that appears on the taxi meter.[FAQs 1] For rides given by community drivers, the app calculates how much a taxi ride of the same time and distance would have cost.[16] Thus, customers end up paying similar fares regardless of whether their ride is given by a taxi or community driver.[17]

At the end of a ride requested through the app, customers use cash-free, card-free payment to pay their driver.[18] The customer’s credit card that is on file with the app is automatically charged after the completion of a ride.[19] On iPhones, customers can also rate their drivers following a ride.

Reception

On March 15, 2013, TechCrunch featured an article about InstantCab. The article praises InstantCab for its “unique twist on the transportation app business, by combining inventory of taxi drivers along with community ride-sharing drivers.”[20] The article states, “By having drivers from the ride-sharing community as well as the taxi community, InstantCab seeks to provide more supply, safety, and reliability than the other apps out there.”[21] The article also cites a price comparison done by Founder and CEO Aarjav Trivedi, in which he found that InstantCab was cheaper than other ridesharing apps.[22]

Regulatory Responses

On December 20, 2012, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) initiated a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether ridesharing apps like InstantCab fall under its jurisdiction and, if so, how to regulate such apps.[23] The CPUC has not yet issued a decision.

On March 8, 2013, InstantCab received a cease and desist letter from San Francisco International (SFO) Airport, claiming that its community drivers were unlawfully conducting business operations on Airport property without a permit.[24] InstantCab responded that its community drivers were complying with the law because they were not picking up customers at the Airport or engaging in commercial activities on Airport property.[25] Other ridesharing apps in San Francisco have received similar cease and desist letters from SFO Airport.[26]

Future Plans

InstantCab is currently available in San Francisco, California.[27] The company has plans to expand to other cities soon.

References

  1. ^ "Community Drivers". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  2. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  3. ^ Lawler, Ryan. "Y Combinator-Backed InstantCab Provides a Hybrid Alternative to Ride-Sharing and Taxi Apps". AOL Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  4. ^ "Our Story". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  5. ^ "Our Story". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  6. ^ "Our Story". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  7. ^ "What We Do". Y Combinator. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  8. ^ "InstantCab HQ". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  9. ^ "iTunes Preview". Apple, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  10. ^ "InstantCab - Description". Google, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  11. ^ "Sign Up". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  12. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  13. ^ "Community Drivers". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  14. ^ "Taxi Drivers". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  15. ^ "Community Drivers". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  16. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  17. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  18. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  19. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  20. ^ Lawler, Ryan. "Y Combinator-Backed InstantCab Provides a Hybrid Alternative to Ride-Sharing and Taxi Apps". AOL, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  21. ^ Lawler, Ryan. "Y Combinator-Backed InstantCab Provides a Hybrid Alternative to Ride-Sharing and Taxi Apps". AOL, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  22. ^ Lawler, Ryan. "Y Combinator-Backed InstantCab Provides a Hybrid Alternative to Ride-Sharing and Taxi Apps". AOL, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  23. ^ "RideSharing Proceeding". California Public Utilities Commission. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  24. ^ "Letter From the San Francisco International Airport". Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  25. ^ "Letter from the San Francisco International Airport". Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  26. ^ Lawler, Ryan. "SFO Serves Cease-And-Desist Letters to Keep Ride-Sharing Companies From Operating at the Airport". AOL, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  27. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  1. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". RideCell, Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
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