Taxi Times International - March 2015 - English

MARCH 2015 6,80 € 

www.taxi-times.com 

INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE 

THE TAXI TRADE IS MOVING FORWARD 

YES, WE CHANGE! 

IN TRB SPOTLIGHT 

SELF-DRIVING CARS 

AND TAXI-APPS 

AL LAGASSE (TLPA) 

TAXI INDUSTRY NEEDS 

UNIVERSAL COVERAGE 

FRANCE 

CAREFUL OPTIMISM 

WITH NEW LAW

CONTENT 

u p 

d 

t e 

Update 

yourself on 

different forms of 

'New Mobility' 

Details 

and registration on 

www.taxiintelligence.com 

Political 

options and 

choices in a 

new era 

aAmsterdam, 

a great destination 

for a two-day 

networking 

opportunity 

Taxis & FHV 

new horizons for 

operations, design 

and technology 

Extensive 

information and 

discussion sessions 

save the dates ! 

23-24 April 2015 

DEAR TAXI-FRIENDS, 

Were you a bit shocked to see this month’s cover? 

We initially had the same feeling when our 

design agency showed us their cover proposal. 

None of the people you see working there is a 

taxi operator. They are all strangers to the profession 

and it is their interpretation of the 

change the taxi sector must make. The longer 

you look at the drawing, the clearer it becomes 

how the taxi industry will have to change in the 

coming months and years. 

To deal with these themes in one go, is impossible. 

But the first steps are being taken, that 

much is clear from various articles in this Taxi 

Times edition. Some are experimenting in the 

area of electro-mobility, others with the use of 

cashless payment systems. The entire taxi trade 

can profit from the outcome of these experiments 

and initiatives – as long as it remains connected. 

- the editors - 

DATES 

TAXIintell Update 

International Taxi & FHV Conference 

April 23–24, 2015, Amsterdam RAI 

www.taxiintelligence.com 

TLPA 

Spring Conference & Expo 

April 29–May 2, 2015, San Diego (USA) 

www.tlpa.org 

International conference Modern Taxi II 

May 27–29, 2015, Novosibirsk, Russia 

msw@taxilife.ru 

4. Norddt. Taxi- und Mietwagentag 

June 6, 2015, Hamburg 

www.taxitag.de 

Eurocab 

October 14–16, 2015, Antwerp, 

Belgium 

www.eurocab.info 

7. Taxitreff 2015 (in German) 

Including Taxi Times workshop 

October 29–31, 2015, Mallorca Spain 

www.taxitreff.de 

CHANGING TAXI TRADE 

8 At TRB, the largest transport conference: 

focus on apps and autonomous driving 

10 Al LaGasse interviewed: why the CEO 

of the American taxi and FHV-association 

TLPA is envious of Europe 

RADIO CIRCUITS 

18 Taxi.eu tests mobile payment 

TRADE FAIRS 

16 More exhibitors for Salon des Taxi in Paris 

17 Fresh start: Taxi World Turkey focused on 

national taxi market 

TAXI OF THE FUTURE 

20 Electrotaxi-special, Part 3: 

the first results of the Mercedes Benz B-class 

Electric Drive-test 

COMPETITION 

23 Betting on the battered boxer: Uber’s defeats 

don’t frighten its investors 

24 Daimler and Uber – 

Connected via a Carpooling-portal 

25 A start-up in the Big Company League. 

A bloated value? 

COMMENT 

6 Our comment on a taxi trade which is 

so much more than just apps 

22 Christoph M. Schwarzer: 

Why the first mass-produced hydrogenpowered 

vehicles should be used as taxis 

REGULAR ITEMS 

7, 15 News 

4 People 

26 The Final 

TAXI MARCH / 2015 3

PEOPLE 

ISTANBUL 

TAXI GALA 

Taxi World Turkey, Turkey’s 

first taxi trade fair, was 

celebrated with a gala 

evening fit for the occasion. 

TAXI.EU LAUNCHES 

IN ISTANBUL 

Turkey is a proud nation, and so are its companies. As 

the host of the gala evening, the company “taxi. 

eu Istanbul” invited many exhibitors from 

Taxi World Turkey, officials from 

Istanbul associations, the company’s 

partners and of course representatives 

of the IRU and 

taxi.eu. Ozan Yalcinkaya, 

one of the company owners, 

gave a detailed presentation 

of the new cooperation 

between his company 

and taxi.eu. Ozan Yalcinkaya 

announced the 

launch of the taxi-hailing 

app, a founding member of 

the European network GTN, 

in Istanbul in April. In a 

megacity like Istanbul with a 

traffic density far exceeding that 

of many other major European cities, 

this hailing service is extremely 

useful for saving valuable time and guaranteeing 

secure and transparent rates for passengers. 

At the same time, the hailing app helps drivers 

to avoid empty trips and reduce fuel costs. Ozan Yalcinkaya 

encouraged drivers and operators of Istanbul taxi stands 

to use the system. 

jh 

IRU LOWERS 

MEMBERSHIP FEES 

“One of the biggest challenges that the taxi industry faces 

today is the globalisation of competition”, said Rezzan 

Dagistani, of the Istanbul office of the International Road 

Transport Union (IRU), during her speech at the gala evening. 

The taxi industry used to be a local industry subject 

to local market conditions and governed by local rules. It 

has suddenly been confronted by new, large and lavishly 

financed global platforms that disregard local rules and 

court orders. The IRU Taxi Group is facing this challenge 

head-on and is currently expanding to cover new members 

from all over the world “to make us even stronger and even 

more representative”, said Dagistani. The membership fees 

were also reformed in order to make it more attractive 

for taxi associations and companies to join the 

group. The membership fee for active taxi 

associations has been reduced by half 

to CHF 5000 (around € 4,700), 

while associate members pay 

CHF 1000 (approx. € 940). Dagistani 

invited taxi associations 

in Turkey and the 

Middle East to join the IRU. 

 

jh 

AWARD 

FOR 

ALIŞAN 

Turkish singer Alişan is a star in his 

homeland – especially among taxi drivers, 

who voted him the most popular singer in a poll. 

He was awarded a large taxi model at the gala by Ertan Ucar, 

chairman of a Berlin taxi association and the organiser of the 

evening. In return, Alişan gave a live concert during which 

he sang and danced among the taxi professionals. jh 

PHOTOS: taxi.eu Istanbul, Taxi Times 

PHOTO: picturesborn-Nessler 

SPECIAL 

THANKS 

We have often chastised the taxi industry 

for its feeble marketing. But there are interesting 

exceptions. Like this example from 

Vienna. What do the people attending this 

concert by the Österreichischen Tonkünstler 

on January 5 have in common? They 

all order their cabs from radio circuit 

40100 and that’s why they have been invited, 

for the past 16 years, to the Taxi New 

Year’s Gala in the Grossen Musikvereinssaal 

in Vienna. A concert only for regular 

customers and friends of this Viennese 

radio circuit. An example of excellent – and 

different – marketing. 

jh/wf 

4

OUR COMMENT 

TAXI IN CHANGE 

ATHENS TAXIS SUFFER 

UNDER FINANCIAL CRISIS 

THIS TRADE IS ABOUT 

SO MUCH MORE THAN APPS 

At the moment the taxi and FHV trade is mainly fire-fighting, 

but it is also inspired by various successes and new initiatives. 

Our quick visit to the US confirmed: TNC’s 

(Transportation Network Companies, what 

we routinely call ‘apps’) dominate the 

mobility industry. There perhaps even 

more than in the taxi and private hire 

industry here. The various discussions at 

the Annual Meeting of the Transportation 

Research Board showed the acute demand 

for seminars on apps and taxis, on apps 

CREDIT CARDS 

From 8 May, 2015, Berlin taxi drivers 

are required by law to accept credit 

cards. It is noteworthy that a law has 

to prescribe something that really in 

this day and age should be obvious 

to a service industry. While the taxi 

industry in some cities is still contemplating 

whether it should ever 

accept cashless payments, from the 

technology perspective suppliers are 

already making mobile payments as 

quick and efficient as possible. On 

page 18 we report on the integration 

of mobile payment in a taxi-app. By 

the way, only in Berlin. 

and autonomous driving and particularly 

on a deep gaze into the crystal ball. Where 

are we – as a taxi and FHV industry – going 

to be in one, two, five years from now? 

What can we, as operators and colleagues 

with a worldwide connection, learn from 

each other and develop as an approach to 

defend and improve our industry? 

Following the latest developments as 

we try to do at Taxi Times, sometimes a 

week is quite a long time. A moment of 

quiet reflection is not something that 

seems to be given to us or to the US taxi, 

limousine or paratransit operator – often 

busily fire fighting TNC’s. The same goes 

for the Taxi, Limousine and Paratransit 

Association (TLPA), where CEO Al LaGasse, 

in an unusually long interview, gave us his 

view on the state of ‘his’ industry, on the 

rise and development of the TNC’s and on 

new strategies developed and deployed by 

the trade. It was heartening to hear that 

foreign court cases involving TNC’s, examples 

of foreign industry initiatives and a 

fresh approach like GTN, really inspire colleagues 

in other countries. 

It’s also interesting to note that the 

same country which gave us ‘Fordism’ in 

the 20’s of the last century – a technique 

developed by car maker Henry Ford to simplify 

and split each job on the car-making 

line in the smallest and simplest possible 

part, just got its taxi industry refinement: 

‘Uberisation’: if you apply the rules of 

Uber, many of us will no longer have jobs 

or careers in the taxi industry, but will be 

working a few hours for Uber, a few hours 

for another app and so on. Never for a classic 

working week and never for acceptable 

pay. Each driver will have to piece together 

various app-jobs to fill enough time to 

make enough money. 

Let’s not forget there are many topics 

which now tend to be put on the back burner; 

topics which used to be at the centre of 

the taxi world and we are increasingly losing 

track of: environmentally-friendly cabs 

and operations, taxi as efficient, safe and 

reliable public transport, taxidrivers as our 

ears and eyes whilst we sleep. Just to mention 

a few things. 

Jürgen Hartmann 

EDITOR 

Jürgen Hartmann 

and Wim Faber. 

Wim Faber 

EDITOR 

PHOTO: Gudrun Hartmann 

PHOTOS: Wim Faber, Neone Nederland BV 

The 20.000 taxi drivers in Athens work (much) more 

and earn less as a result of the Greek government’s 

austerity measures. That’s the outcome of a study. 

The drop of 20% in GDP, the rise of fuel prices by 50% and extremely reduced 

taxi-use are worsening working conditions, making the local taxi industry 

suffer. That’s the outcome of a study carried out by the National Technical 

University of Athens. 

Athens taxis, with a flag fall of € 1,19, a rate of € 0,68 per km and an 

average cost of € 3,16 per average journey not exactly expensive, used to 

be an affordable way to go to work, even compared to public transport. Now 

locals have not only stopped 

using taxis, but are even cutting 

public transport journeys. 

Daily income in the taxi industry 

is declining steadily, with 

drivers spending more time 

waiting (on average 3–4 hours) 

and doing less trips than 

before. Nowadays not even all 

Athens consumers would like newer and 

cleaner taxi vehicles. 

available shifts are filled in 

this highly regulated sector, 

with its powerful unions and 

its own members of parliament. In many areas of the Greek capital illegal 

taxi ranks have popped up. Roughly ten years ago the Olympic Games led 

to a complete modernisation of Athens’ taxi fleet. But because of the crisis, 

many of these vehicles have not been replaced in the meantime. 

Compared to the situation before the crisis, 80% of taxi-users are taking 

less taxis than before, 20% completely stopped using them. 40% of these 

users even took a taxi a few times a week, usually to or from work. But with 

this reduced use, taxi-customers (and especially tourists) find taxis more 

readily available, the fare not too high, drivers friendlier than before but 

the quality of the vehicles 

GREEK GOVERNMENT 

TO TAKE TAXIS 

Prime minister Tsipras and his cabinet 

are selling off its service car fleet. 

Instead of driving, the politicians will 

ride motorcycles – or take taxis! 

HALE – a complete 

range of high quality 

taxi products. 

Be part of our success story and call 

+43 662 43 90 11 - 0 

www.hale-electronic.com 

merely ‘OK’. Newer and 

cleaner taxis are high on the 

wish-list of taxi-customers, 

just like lower fares and 

more accessible vehicles. 

Internet and app-availibility 

also play a part in the drop 

in taxi work. • wf 

-Connectivity 

Cab Tracking 

and Dispatching 

software 

taximeter 

Microtax®-06 

THE ORIGINAL 

mirror taximeter SPT-02 

completely integrated! 

NEWSTICKER 

TAXITRONIC NEDER- 

LAND RESTARTS AS 

NEONE NEDERLAND 

The introduction of the Boordcomputer 

Taxi (BCT), a complicated digital 

taxi computer in The Nether lands, 

has recently claimed its third victim: 

February 2nd, the owners of 

Taxitronic Nederland BV, filed for 

bankruptcy. The bankruptcy included 

two sister companies, Neone and 

roof sign maker Barclays. Mid-February 

the company restarted as 

Neone Nederland BV. 

In the lengthy BCT-process three 

of the four original certified BCT 

suppliers have now gone bust. April 

last year Taxamatic, run by taxi 

entrepreneur Albert Haars, hit the 

buffers and not much later Quipment 

hastily made a restart. Euphoria/Cabman 

is the only BCT-suppler 

which is still standing. wf 

Neone Nederland’s digital taxi 

computer registers working times 

and fares. 

taximeter-terminal TT-01 

multiport thermal 

printer TPD-01 

roof sign TRS 

6 

TAXI MARCH / 2015 

7


Dr. Mundy: “There 

are court cases 

which have 2 to 4 

years to go.” 

Mac Urata (International Transport 

Workers’ Federation – ITF) 

warned that driver safety could 

worsen with TNC’s. 

The ‘Future Taxis’-panel covered much of the TNC/taxi discussion. 

AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES 

AND TAXI(-APPS) 

IN TRB-SPOTLIGHT 

The US has struggled with apps longer than any other country. 

A recent conference showed the taxi market’s uncertainty. 

Predictions? ‘Not the slightest.’ 

At the world’s largest transport conference, TRB’s Annual 

Meeting in Washington DC (January 11–15) quite a 

few policymakers, administrators, practitioners, 

researchers, suppliers, consultants, representatives of government(s) 

and academia were drawn to taxi(app)- and autonomous 

vehicle discussions. 

It was standing room only in the many sessions with connected 

and automated vehicles. Think again, those who think the selfdriving 

vehicle will be here tomorrow: Google, one of its main 

developers, told the conference it needed at least five years of tests 

to iron out software problems with properly recognising events 

on and around the road. For instance: kids playing next to the 

road – are they a potential ‘danger’ to traffic or just … playing kids? 

Legislation in many areas is racing ahead of actual autonomous 

driving, although Singapore is already running tests with driverless 

taxis in a small industrial estate. Until last year the Vienna 

Convention on Road Traffic (1968) stated that a car needs to have 

a driver at the wheel. A little-noticed amendment to the convention 

now lets drivers take their hands off the wheel of driverless cars. 

NO APPS, BUT TNC’S 

So far, taxi and FHV issues have only been but a small part of 

TRB’s Annual Meeting, mainly as part of paratransit – transporting 

people with mobility handicaps. But the activities of ‘apps’, 

or Transportation Network Companies (TNC’s) as the US shorthand 

goes, have given taxi-related subjects a higher status. One 

three-hour (!) session (‘Future Taxis: Implications of Transportation 

Network Providers for the Taxi Industry’), chaired and organised 

by James Cooper (University of Missouri), made a valiant 

effort to charter the length and breath of this burning issue. 

TNC’s are changing the taxi-landscape fast. Many references 

were made to the deregulation of the US trucking industry in the 

80’s. And to sudden changes in the music industry, more recently. 

Remember Napster? “There are different markets with different, 

sometimes limited rules, different pricing and brand new 

elements. There are now at least two different business models”, 

said Dr. Ray Mundy (taxi-expert of the University of Missouri). 

“The taxi industry will be changed and things are changing at a 

bewildering speed.” 

AIRPORTS: TAXIS AND TNC’S? 

“Keep in mind that this change is only a good two years old. There 

are court cases relating to TNC’s in the pipeline which still have 

two to four years to go. And then there will be appeals.” Predictions? 

“No, not the slightest.” Suffice to say that the app controls 

the driver. That creates an employer-employee relationship, whereas 

in the US taxi world the driver is an independent operator. Then 

there are insurance problems, partly because there are no data for 

TNC-insurance. Or not any that the TNC’s would like to share.” 

This is a general problem, also for regulators, this data-secrecy on 

the part of the TNC’s. Only recently TNC’s in Boston and New York 

seem willing to part with data. “And finally”, Mundy said, “airports 

PHOTOS: Wim Faber 

are watching these developments very closely as they might want 

to include TNC’s in their regulatory business model.” As most airports 

– also outside the US – regulate these activities themselves, 

taxis might soon have to share space with TNC’s. 

The two apps at the table (Curb, formerly Taxi Magic) and Lyft 

Technologies (not shying away from a frank discussion with regulators 

and taxi companies, unlike Uber), could not be more different. 

Both stressed urbanisation, population growth, greater 

city-density, a growing elderly population, environmental concerns, 

lower car ownership and ‘instant gratification’ by app 

(‘knowing that the car is on its way’) as defining reasons for new 

mobility approaches. Curb, as Taxi Magic one of the oldest (taxi) 

apps around, connects with existing regulatory structures and 

connects users, taxi fleets and vehicles, offers transparency, ease 

of payment and choice (of taxi companies). This because the taxi 

market is very fragmented, with no cooperation on the horizon 

and drivers being fiercely independent. 

‘WE SEEK REGULATION’ 

On the TNC-side, offering a swift and (raised) quality service, 

surge-pricing remains a headache. According to Curb, the different 

mobility modes can only compete fully and fairly on a truly 

level playing field. Lyft (active in 65 US cities) connects to the 

ineffectual carpooling initiatives in the 70’s, with a change in 

technology and efficiency. It claims to do vehicle checks, background 

checks and to provide proper insurance. The app, now 2,5 

years old, says it offers many first and last mile trips to public 

transport (mainly in San Francisco) and opens up many areas 

with lower incomes. Recent developments: Lyft Line, a cheaper 

pooling system for one or two passengers and ‘driver destination’, 

offering only pick-ups on the driver’s way home. Although Lyft 

stressed that ‘we seek regulation’, it also sees the professional 

taxi training framework as ‘a barrier to entry.’ 

The environmental side (‘Do TNC’s help the environment or 

just the opposite’?) was addressed by Green Tomato Cars, an environmentally-friendly 

sedan company started 10 years ago, now 

owned by the (French) Transdev-company. It stated that major 

changes are afoot in the areas of road infrastructure and technology: 

“Cities will be electric e-havens. My money is on electric 

driverless cars continually replenished by induction loops.” 

‘UBER, LYFT LOST, THE REGULATORS WON ...’ 

The downside of apps and private cars disappearing plus flexible 

public transport taking over: “Uber and Lyft will immediately fill 

up the void by adding vehicles and contributing to congestion.” 

Not exactly a bonus for the environment. As universal apps now 

seem to be the rage in the USA, Autocab, a UK supplier of dispatching 

systems, stated “Yes, the taxi industry can compete!” It 

now unifies different and competing fleets via its universal white 

label app-software. Washington DC is now developing its own app 

in-house. And, its greatly cleaned-up fleet is now taking credit 

cards and should be fully wheelchair-accessible in a few years. 

“What’s at stake from a regulatory perpective?”, asked consultant 

Bruce Schaller. “Adapt the current regulatory structure 

and go for a level playing field or go for ‘an Uber set of rules’ with 

a race to the bottom where the least respected operator wins.” 

According to him, the expanding taxi & FHV industry 

(+42% between 2002–2012) is governed by an archaic regulatory 

structure which should combine taxi, FHV and TNC regulations 

in one agency. 

And the good news? Former New York regulator and IATRpresident 

Matt Daus stated that we are experiencing “a regulatory 

backlash. Uber, Lyft lost, the regulators won.” Within two 

year’s time, in one of the many lawsuits the TNC laws will be 

knocked out and then it’s back to the regulatory side, predicted 

Daus. And the spying and privacy issues Uber was fire-fighting, 

won’t go away either. There are court cases in that area too. These 

are exciting times. n 

wf 

TRB’S ANNUAL MEETING 

It’s the world’s largest transport conference, 

the Annual Meeting of the Transportation 

Research Board (TRB) in Washington DC 

(January 11–15). 12.000 specialists listened 

to 5.000 presentations in 750 sessions. 

A great ‘knowledge supermarket.’ This time 

taxi(apps) and autonomous driving were 

hot subjects. 

8 TAXI MARCH / 2015 

9



TLPA-CEO, ALFRED LAGASSE 

“IT TOOK THE INDUSTRY A 

LONG TIME TO RECOGNISE 

THE INTER NATIONAL 

THREAT OF TNC’S” 

Envious of foreign legal system decisiveness 

in taking strong action against illegal 

TNC’s, Al LaGasse (CEO TLPA), wishes 

his own court system would show more 

strength in following this foreign lead. 

Not a day passes where at least one of 

the apps, Transportation Network Companies 

(TNC’s) is the term used in the 

USA, makes the headlines. For the past 

three years, LaGasse’s long working days 

have been filled with the same fare, assisting 

members across the country in 

their stand against often illegal apps. 

TAXI TIMES: It all started in 

San Francisco … 

AL LAGASSE: “Although Uber started 

five years ago in San Francisco, it stayed 

under the radar for quite a while. It’s interesting 

to note that one app – TaxiMagic, 

now Curb – was earlier on the market than 

Uber, but this app connects taxi-users 

with licensed taxi companies.” 

What were the major changes in these 

three years? 

“Recently, Uber, Lyft and Sidecar have 

grown into significant national players. 

Before that they were only active in a few 

markets like San Francisco and Seattle. In 

mid-2013 Uber started branching out to 

»Uber is an 

extremely 

aggressive firm 

that will not accept 

statements of 

opposition 

of anyone except 

courts.« 

Washington DC, Boston and Chicago with 

their UberBlack service at first. Soon thereafter, 

they introduced UberX (UberPop) and 

then quickly grew from there. We sounded 

the alarm nationally and internationally, 

but many members, 

especially those in 

smaller jurisdictions, 

thought TNC’s would be limited 

to the largest cities and would never 

affect them. Now even relatively small cities 

are affected. Do you know Portsmouth, 

New Hampshire? No? There’s a TNC there. 

It has only 22.000 inhabitants.” 

“It took the industry a long time to see 

the national and international development. 

Our first job was to get recognition 

for the fact that this is a true industrywide 

problem. We hadn’t really achieved 

that before April 2014, when Lyft suddenly 

opened in 24 US cities in one week 

and UberX followed suit. The race for TNC 

market dominance and the driver labour 

force was on.” 

INSURANCE 

PHOTO: Wim Faber 

The taxi sector was the first to feel the 

effects. In many areas where TNC’s have 

been active for over a year, the taxi industry 

has felt a drop in income of approximately 

40%. Of the widely quoted figure of 

a 65% drop in San Francisco, LaGasse says 

this is “blown out of all proportions” and 

“based on a limited sample.” Yet in the taxi 

to the TLPA my driver told me half the 

500+ taxi fleet at his company was parked 

and not used. “The taxi companies were 

the first to respond”, says LaGasse. “The 

limousine industry is just now responding. 

At the time paratransit operators were 

dealing with other problems: aggregators 

(brokers) who entered their business as 

middle men between government and service 

providers. They are the least affected 

by the TNC’s thus far, although Uber said 

it would provide a wheelchair-accessible 

service in San Francisco. A pure PR-move, 

if you ask me. So far they have done a mis- 

era- 

ble job 

of servicing 

people with 

mobility handicaps. 

But time will tell.” 

“Yes, TNC’s have made significant 

inroads in the taxi business. Generally 

their prices are 20–40 per cent lower. 

Except when they are surge pricing, and 

that happens far more often than you 

think. Because of weather, blocked roads, 

high demand, whatever. There’s always a 

reason. Several times a day TNC’s will be 

much more expensive than taxis. Uber 

provides a taxi service, but doesn’t call it 

a taxi service, thinks it doesn’t have to 

follow the rules required for taxis, benefits 

from doing that and doesn’t incur the costs 

licensed taxi companies are compelled to 

meet.” 

‘The more consensus you build within the industry, the better.’ 

One of the main ‘savings’ is insurance. 

Most TNC’s claim to have proper 

insurance. A claim hotly disputed 

by the taxi industry. 

“It’s insurance with major gaps. So many 

gaps that 28 states have already issued 

warnings for TNC-insurance. It’s not ‘first 

dollar’ insurance and it means you have 

to go through the driver’s insurance first. 

When that is denied, you can seek coverage 

from Uber. That has evolved into better 

insurance since they started, mainly 

under pressure from the public sector. We 

had a professional expert go through all 

166 pages of Uber’s policy and addendums. 

There are gaps there. But keep in 

mind that when a customer signs up with 

Uber’s terms and conditions for instance, 

he waives the right to sue Uber. The same 

goes for the drivers: they also waive their 

rights.” 

But TNC’s happily claim they are covered 

to the tune of a million dollars. 

“That’s what Uber says. How real is that 

sum? They string each lawsuit out to make 

sure payments don’t have to be made. That 

helps keep their cash flow healthy. In the 

early days money was tight. There was no 

money to pay insurance. Now they would 


11



like to save on that, even though they had 

to act to get better insurance when forced 

by public policy. They could easily have 

commercial car insurance on each vehicle 

in their system, but then they would lose 

their most significant cost advantage over 

licensed taxis.” 

Why is Uber making such an issue of 

buying the right insurance? 

“Insurance is a critically important cost factor. 

Our industry is required to buy primary 

commercial insurance. Each licensed 

taxi driver, limo driver, UberBlack or Uber- 

SUV-driver and in New York each livery 

driver carries primary commercial insurance 

that covers the vehicle 24 hours a day, 

365 days a year. Our insurance is primary 

and commercial and our auto liability 

insurance will pay injured parties and will 

meet the state’s financial standards for 

insurance. Uber spent tremendous sums 

on lobbyists to make sure they would not 

have to buy the same type and level of 

insurance. They may have spent more on 

the lobbyists than on the actual insurance. 

In the long term they are hoping to save 

money. They’ve made a judgement and they 

think it’s worthwhile. That’s the major reason 

why they can charge less.” 

Who pays up if the TNC’s insurance 

doesn’t pay? 

“There’s a high probability that many TNCclaims 

are paid out of the private insurance. 

Because drivers don’t tell their insurance 

company they’re driving for a TNC. The 

states where this is happening, are burdening 

their citizens with higher insurance 

premiums, because they are subsidising 

Uber-claims. The insurance companies are 

hoping to keep licensed commercial fleets 

and create a new TNC-policy.” 

WHAT’S HAPPENING? 

You said you warned the international 

industry. Was nobody listening? 

»It’s insurance with 

gaps. So many 

gaps that 28 states 

have already issued 

warnings for 

TNC-insurance.« 

“We have many very intelligent members 

all over the world, but when these illegal 

operations first popped up their reaction 

was like ours: ‘It won’t stand.’ The same 

reaction as in the US market. ‘Regulations 

are made for a reason.’ Especially when 

they have to do with public safety. It is hard 

to believe that when you have significant 

investment capital, it allows you to provide 

the same service as we do, but without 

meeting the same public safety standards. 

There are rules about insurance, vehicle 

inspections and driver background checks. 

Violating these rules means you cut costs. 

And from a public safety point of view, cutting 

corners is bad. There are many locations 

where this happens. It gives lots of 

advantages to the operator: it’s cheaper and 

you hit the road faster with your product.” 

Were regulators not concerned? 

“It is fair to say that with rare exceptions 

regulators are not sympathetic to TNC’s at 

all. Regulators understand the nuances of 

the industry and public safety. Politicians 

don’t understand the industry, they don’t 

deal with it. They are intrigued by the 

TNC’s marketing, by what they call ridesharing. 

The ‘sharing economy’ sounds 

good – let’s give it a try. But why have we 

had public safety requirements for the past 

100 years?” 

“Politicians lean on regulators. There’s 

no question that a regulators’ instinct is to 

enforce public safety. They don’t stop until 

they’re told to stop. We are disappointed at 

the lack of regulatory crackdown. Once you 

meet with the regulator you understand 

it’s not the regulator but the politicians 

pulling the strings. Some regulators feel 

passionately about this. It will come back 

to haunt the politicians. In Boston recently, 

there were three sexual assaults within a 

month.” 

Haven’t things changed? Uber has had 

some pretty bad months. 

“Yes, there is a definite backlash against 

TNC’s. But we need to differentiate. Uber 

is the leader. In the US, in most of the 

world. Uber is most aggressive at violating 

existing rules pushing past the regulator 

and going for a political response. Uber is 

an extremely aggressive firm that will not 

accept statements of opposition of anyone 

except courts. They will huff and they will 

puff, but they will back down after court 

action. The others in the US are very similar 

but not as bold. But that may be a 

financing issue. Uber’s got the money.” 

What caused this backlash? 

“It was mainly a PR-backlash. December 

2014 was collectively the worst month for 

TNC’s. Several different things: Uber’s 

arrogant statements over the checking of 

reporter-backgrounds and numerous high 

profile sexual assaults – a polite way of 

saying rapes – worldwide. Attacking the 

media was a very bad idea. Before, the 

media were not looking – shame on them! 

Now they are more willing to listen to the 

stories of others. As Uber grew, there were 

more problems. Are they perhaps violating 

the law?” 

Did Europe play a clear role? 

“Yes, what also helped was that several 

European nations took legal action. The 

media took a stronger look and found flaws. 

There is a lot the media can report on. Particularly 

if things are not as Uber portrays 

them. What happens now? Uber’s had two 


bad months and they’re rebounding. They 

invited journalists to cocktails, beefed up 

staff with seasoned professionals who 

could help them find a way out of this. My 

message: obey the law as the TNCs do in 

New York. Fingerprint drivers, let the public 

authorities inspect your vehicles, and 

pay the same taxes and fees as other operators. 

They can operate within the law in 

New York. So why can’t they follow the law 

in all other cities? The new people they’re 

bringing into Uber should convince the 

CEO and others that obeying the law is not 

such a bad idea.” 

Were you envious of those European 

countries? 

“Yes, I was envious of the rest of the world. 

It made me disappointed in our own politicians 

and judicial process. Uber has the 

right to change the law, to work within the 

rules. But to operate with the thinly veiled 

excuse that ‘we are different, the rules 

don’t apply to us.’ We take heart that other 

countries respect their laws and apply 

them. We hope that our politicians learn 

from that.” 

“It’s also a slippery slope. Uber urged 

drivers to provide unlicensed taxi service 

for several years and now, in the few communities 

where they have convince the 

politicians to make UberX legal, Uber now 

tells those same drivers that they cannot 

pick up on the street. Uber doesn’t want 

them to pick up off-app on the street, 

because Uber won’t get its 20% fee. Isn’t it 

surprising that drivers will still create 

ranks? And try to get work on the streets 

illegally – without the app? Here the TNCs 

have created a problem for themselves and 

it will not easily be remedied.” 

Are there Uber-ranks? 

“Absolutely! Uber drivers sit outside the 

major restaurants and entertainment centres 

in Washington DC. ‘Do you want a 

ride, sir?’ It’s a standard practice with 

many UberX drivers. Difficult to stamp out. 

ALFRED LAGASSE 

Al LaGasse, (60) CEO of the Taxicab Limousine & Paratransit Association 

(TLPA) in Rockville, Maryland (USA), joined the organisation in 1978 with 

a degree in Business Administration from the George Mason University. 

LaGasse is probably the longest serving CEO of any taxi association. His 

political and management skills and in-depth knowledge of the US industry 

made TLPA the leading authority in the US taxi, limousine and paratransit 

sector and him the long-time favourite of TLPA’s membership. 

Uber is also limiting their liability. Uber 

admits that when you’re not going through 

the app you’re not insured in any way.” 

What would you recommend operators 

do? 

“It’s difficult but very important to objectively 

examine your own services. Make 

sure you deliver the service the public 

needs. Look at your own technology. Major 

firms all have apps of which the quality is 

good. The message about enforcing the law 

hasn’t worked well in the US. Now our message 

is mainly a public safety message. You 

also need position papers that explain our 

industry in simple and direct terms. The 

media doesn’t understand the industry and 

the issues. Neither do politicians.” 

“The more consensus you build within 

the industry, the better. In every city they 

go into the TNC’s have a plan. We are not 

one company. Every city has different 

requirements. We don’t have a cookie 

cutter response to their cookie cutter 


13


NEWS 

BRUSSELS 

GOVERNMENT 

FINANCES 

DIGITAL 

TAXIMETERS 

As Brussels 

cabs are no 

‘pirate taxis’ 

they will 

have a digital 

meter. 

By October 2016 all taxis in the Brussels Capital Region should be fitted with 

the most advanced taxi meter. The Region will spend € 3,2 million. 

approach. We need to 

educate the industry 

operators to spread 

the same strong public 

safety message.” 

Isn’t it a very uneven 

battle financially? 

“We are dogged in 

our determination. 

Unflinching, unfailing 

we have to be there 

365 days of every year. IRU and national 

associations all have to be there. What happened 

to Uber in December was three years 

in the making. Two bad months in 2014. 

But they are in for more. TLPA staff is growing 

by one to 6, but the number of our consultants 

has grown tremendously: legal, 

legislative, social media, insurance and PR. 

It’s been a burden that our members share. 

This year we have to double our fees as there 

are significant costs we need to share.” 

Can the industry learn a lesson from 

TNC’s? 

“We rely too much on our colour schemes, 

the visibility of our cabs. That’s not enough 

anymore. People have shown they prefer 

not to call a dispatcher. They prefer pushing 

a button on their smartphone. People 

like that, I like that. Technology gives comfort 

if it’s done right. Showing the vehicle 

coming towards you on your smartphone 

screen gives confidence in the service. A 

great idea. Another one is rating drivers. 

This may encourage some drivers to provide 

more customer friendly service.” 

»We need universal 

coverage. It’s a 

worthwhile goal to 

strive for as soon 

as possible.« 

“Marketing perhaps? Yes, they give away 

free trips. That’s what you have to do when 

you’re in business providing an illegal service. 

Or spend major dollars on social 

media. It’s too costly for licensed operators 

to provide free trips. But if you’re not paying 

licensing fees and expenses, it’s not so 

difficult to give away free trips.” 

LaGasse is honest about the state of the 

industry: “Are they hurting us? Yes! In the 

early days we fought them off quite well. 

Most operators in the US have more than 

one type of operation – the lines between 

services are more blurred here. In the US 

we’re probably headed to a relaxation of 

many licensing and 

public safety requirements 

in the taxi 

industry. I firmly 

believe TNC’s public 

safety requirements 

must be and will be 

tightened and like us 

they must turn over 

data to regulators. 

We could do with 

paying less fees to 

the cities, if we want a chance to lower 

our rates and compete with TNC prices. 

And if the rules are relaxed for our competitors, 

then for us as well. We need to 

have a look at new business practices, like 

surge pricing. Not to copy it and charge 7 

or 8 times the fare, but to give our drivers 

who are out in bad weather, a reasonable 

incentive to stay on the road for the 

passengers.” 

One universal app for the US, would 

that work? 

“That’s a universal ideal that can be realised. 

But we never got our members 

behind one methodology for an app. I say, 

lets start going through the steps, if we 

ever want to get there. The market is not 

big enough to support a 100 apps in the 

USA and more than a 100 worldwide. How 

many will survive? My guess is fewer than 

5 taxi apps in the US, and maybe 10 worldwide. 

We need universal coverage. It’s a 

worthwhile goal to strive for as soon as 

possible. That’s why we think GTN is such 

a good initiative.” n 

wf 


PHOTO: Weilandt, Faber 

All 1.270 taxis in the Brussels region must 

be fitted with new digital meters, similar 

to the digital taximeters in Flanders and 

the advanced on-board computers (BCT) in 

The Netherlands. But where Dutch taxi 

operators received a subsidy of a mere 

€ 600 on an average BCT of € 1.300 to 

€ 1.500, Brussels colleagues will profit 

from a generous local government. Minister 

Pascal Smet (Mobility) will finance the 

meters from a budget of € 3,2 million. So 

far only 40 of the taxis in the European 

Dirk Ritter, responsible for the traffic business supervision of the 

Authority for Economy, Transport and Innovation of the City of 

Hamburg, drew a positive balance. The so-called fiscal taximeters 

were installed and supported financially in 2.104 taxis, says Ritter. 

This is a “huge number 

which we can all be proud of”. 

It is a very strong signal when 

“2/3 of all vehicles voluntarily participate, 

guaranteeing fair competitive 

conditions and im proving 

their image significantly”. 

Unlike most other areas, taxi 

permits in Hamburg are not limited 

and they increased drastically 

in the beginning of the new 

millennium – from 3,391 in 1966 

to over 4,000 in 2000. Consequently, 

a parallel economy and 

moonlighting were emerging. 

capital are fitted with a digital meter. How 

the Region is going to decide on the supplier 

of these meters, is not yet decided. 

With the new taximeter drivers will no 

longer have to record their rest and driving 

times with pen and paper, local government 

gets more data and customers get 

more information about price and distance. 

Smet insists on maximum transparency in 

the taxi sector. The neww meters must enable 

card and smartphone payments. The 

meter should not only simplify the work of 

FINAL BALANCE IN HAMBURG 

The number of Taxis in Hamburg is falling continuously. 

the taxi driver. As its data will be stored 

on an “external server” and in the meter 

itself, local government will also get a 

wealth of information about the local taxi 

activities and about local traffic. 

For Smet this is a first step “in making 

the Brussels taxi sector more dynamic and 

customer friendly. At the moment I’m 

working on a Taxi Plan, which I will present 

to the government in due course. With 

this plan we are moving towards a better 

taxi service in Brussels.” 

wf 

On the 30th of November 2014 ended a project of several years, promoted by the licensing 

authorities of Hamburg, for the installation of fiscal taximeters. 

In order to monitor actual sales again, the Hanseatic city started 

a project known as the “Hamburg Model”. The voluntary installation 

of tamper-proof taximeters was financially supported. 

Through the participation of numerous companies, as well as the 

evaluation of recorded sales, realistic 

values could be determined 

again, serving as a starting point 

for the authorities. 

As a result, the extension of 

concessions was refused to many 

companies, as their specific sales 

were classified as implausible. 

“The time the taxi business in 

Hamburg was finding itself rather 

in a ‘grey zone’ is finally over” Dirk 

Ritter concluded. “The number of 

taxis in Hamburg is falling continuously. 

Today, there are only 3,252 

taxis on Hamburg’s roads.” jh 


15

TRADE FAIRS 

TRADE FAIRS 

Most taxi drivers 

at the Salon were 

positive about 

the new taxi-law. 

“taxi.eu Istanbul” 

was one of 28 

exhibitors of “Taxi 

World Turkey” 

One seminar dealt with the taxis’ role in … 1914. 

Unusual suppliers next to the 

classic ‘taxi brands’. 

SALON DES TAXIS: 

CAREFUL OPTIMISM 

WITH NEW LAW 

The jury is still out on the new law on taxis and 

VTC, but the atmosphere at the bi-annual 

Paris taxi exhibition (31/01–01/02) was upbeat. 

TURKEY’S 

TRADE FAIR 

GETS OFF TO A 

GOOD START 

No surprise that most conference 

seminars centred on the new law 

on taxis and VTC (private hire) 

and had standing room only. One topic was 

typically French: one seminar paid its 

respects to the heroic efforts by the Paris 

taxi drivers in WW1 to get as many soldiers 

to the Marne-front near Paris as possible. 

The Renault taxis (one was shown at 

the Salon) from taxi company G3 transported 

5.000 soldiers in two days. (The 

seminars – in French – can be found on: 

www.salondestaxis.com). 

RISING INTEREST 

With over 5.000 visitors in two days the 

Salon is the main exhibition in France. Created 

in 1998 and organised by Marc Szperling, 

the 2015 edition – the 12th – is the 

largest so far: 1.000m2 more than in 2013. 

“This underlines the rising interest of the 

companies supplying the taxi industry”, 

Szperling told our colleagues of 100%Taxi. 

“Even though taxi drivers (the main audience 

of the Salon) are wondering about 

their future, there has been a clear increase 

in numbers from Salon to Salon. I am sure 

the taxi sector, which is very visible in 

France, will adapt to the new demands customers 

make on it.” 

»Any app must use 

licensed taxior 

VTC-drivers. 

You can no longer 

have apps using 

private drivers.« 

Almost half the stand space was taken up 

by the largest Paris radio circuit and its 

affiliates: Group G7. This company not only 

dispatches cabs, but also sells and lets vehicles 

(with and without licences) and other 

taxi equipment, and provides driver training. 

“We welcome the new law, which was 

voted almost on the last day of 2014, but it 

will now depend on how well the authorities 

put a stop to all illegal app-activities”, 

says G7 CEO Serge Metz. “The good thing 

is that any app must use licensed taxi- or 

VTC-drivers. You can no longer have apps 

using private drivers and their vehicles.” 

VERY NATIONAL MARKET 

What doesn’t benefit the industry in 

France is the large number of industry 

associations and unions: about ten (!) were 

represented at the Salon’s entrance, but 

they were taking up much less space than 

the vehicle suppliers. Skoda, VW, Opel, 

Renault, Citroen and Mercedes were most 

noticeable, next to unusual taxi brands like 

Infiniti and Suzuki. Apart from the leading 

rooflight- and meter-suppliers in the now 

open French market (ATA, Kienzle and 

Hale), many independent and mostly 

French suppliers had focused on taxi apps, 

with ‘offwigo’ as one of the most interesting 

startups. In that respect France 

remains a very special and independent, 

but also very national market. n wf 

PHOTOS: Wim Faber 

PHOTOS: Taxi Times 

Turkey’s first taxi trade fair took 

place this year. Nearly 30 exhibitors 

presented their products at 

‘Taxi World Turkey’ In Istanbul. 

With celebratory words, Yahya Uğur, the Istanbul taxi 

association president, cut the red ribbon and inaugurated 

the first taxi trade fair in Turkey. Associations, 

drivers’ unions, many service providers and vendors of taxi-related 

products were present. Vehicle manufacturers did not participate, 

although there would have been enough space in the Istanbul trade 

fair hall, which was two thirds full. 

New taxi regulations will soon come into effect in Istanbul and 

other Turkish cities, which is why the exhibitors focused on the 

needs of the domestic market. Digitisation is also underway in 

the Turkish taxi industry. Numerous app providers such as Takside, 

IQ-Taxi, Bitaksi (the Turkish version of mytaxi) and taxi.eu 

provide the sector, an additional and much more efficient alternative 

to the usual neighbourhood taxis stands. And so the model 

of a historical ‘Istanbul T 48’ taxi presented by Bitaksi took on a 

symbolic meaning: While the Turkish taxi market is still very 

traditional, the future is poised to emerge from the background 

in the form of smartphone apps. • jh 

Yahya Uğur (middle), president of the Istanbul Taxi 

Association, visits Hermann Waldner (second from the 

left), whose app taxi.eu will be coming to Istanbul. 

TAXIMETER 

BOOM 

There are 17,000 taxis 

in Istanbul. It was no 

surprise that so many 

taximeter manufacturers 

were presenting 

their products. In 

addition to the Turkish 

leaders Alberen 

and Taksim as well as newcomer ATA, there 

were several well-known European manufacturers 

such as Digitax, Taxitronic and 

Semitron. The Greek manufacturer presented 

a new LP 50 thermal printer that is linked to 

the taximeter by cable or Bluetooth. jh 


17

RADIO-CIRCUITS 

RADIO-CIRCUITS 

TAXI.EU NOW ACCEPTS 

MOBILE PAYMENT 

With a pilot test in Berlin, the app ‘taxi.eu’ will facilitate quick, cashless 

payment via smartphone. PayPal is an important partner. 

Berlin taxis draw 

attention to the mobile 

payment option with 

eye-catching outdoor 

advertising. 

Especially because this mobile payment solution is a unique selling 

point for taxi.eu in comparison to its competitors: The noncash 

payment can be made even if the customer gets into the taxi at 

the taxi stop without placing an order via the app first. “In this 

case, all the driver has to do is request an activation code on his/ 

her terminal,” taxi.eu’s staff Stephan Müller explains the process. 

“The taxi user has to enter this code in his/her smartphone and 

authorise payment.” 

By also integrating PayPal, taxi.eu was able to agree on a comprehensive 

marketing campaign with PayPal for the start of the 

pilot test. PayPal will advertise the new service at Berlin traffic 

hubs such as train stations and the airport. And approximately 

900 taxis in Berlin have been driving around with PayPal-advertising 

on their doors. 

Coincidentally, the mobile payment option starts at an opportune 

time in Berlin. Berlin was the first city in Germany where 

taxis were officially ordered by the competent regulatory authority 

to accept at least three common credit cards. After May 8, taxis 

with drivers who do not accept credit card payment are prohibited 

from driving passengers. “Most of our taxis accepted credit 

cards before and processed them with appropriate devices,” Hermann 

Waldner insists. “The fact that nowadays we are able to 

accept an additional and very simple payment process with taxi. 

eu-Payment is a clear proof of our high potential in comparison 

to competitors like Uber, mytaxi and others.” n 

jh 

FROM BERLIN 

TO EUROPE 

5,700 taxis drive for the radio circuit 

Berlin TZB in the German capital. 

An estimated one fifth will test taxi. 

eu-Payment in accordance with 

TZB’s decision-makers. In 

order to participate, both 

the driver and the vehicle 

need to be registered. 

As usual with Taxi 

Berlin, participation is 

on a voluntary basis. 

Should the pilot test 

prove successful, 

other radio circuits 

connected to the 

taxi-eu dispatch 

service will 

also be able to 

integrate this 

function. 

taxi.eu Payment runs on 

the PDA- and DBG 

touch-devices and also in 

the driver-app menu. 

Simply show the translation 

The Taxi Language Phrasebook 

Charm offensive – in over 70 languages! 

● 21 essential phrases every taxi driver needs. 

»A clear proof of 

the taxi trade’s 

high potential.« 

Hermann Waldner 

Recently, taxi users in Berlin have been able to pay for their 

taxi ride via credit or cash card, no additional terminal 

required. The payment is processed via the taxi.eu app. 

The company FMS / austrosoft programmed the necessary interface 

whose system is used to dispatch all kinds of taxi orders to 

the vehicles of central fleets. Now the payment 

option “PayPal” has been integrated 

for the first time. In the next few weeks, 

the new app (taxi.eu Payment) will be tested 

for suitability in daily use in the approx. 

5,700 taxis of the Berlin radio circuit TZB. 

The transaction process is authorised 

via the customer’s smartphone exclusively. 

For this purpose, the taxi user must 

register and authorise his/her credit card in advance and/or 

have a PayPal account. The driver processes the payment via 

the order terminal or via the driver app. That means that at the 

end of the trip, the driver activates the M(obile)Payment mode 

and enters the price. The price is shown on the customer’s smartphone 

who confirms it. Then the driver confirms the payment, 

which is thus finalised. The Berlin radio circuit TZB is responsible 

for settlement. 

Hermann Waldner, TZB managing director and also co-founder 

of the taxi.eu app, closes the gap to the competing apps with 

this additional payment option. mytaxi, an 

app transmitting trips directly to the smartphones 

of registered taxi drivers and operators, 

had introduced a simil arly simple 

mobile payment system in 2013. Taxi 

Deutschland, a competitor in par ti cular on 

the German market, has been offering a 

mobile payment option since 2014. 

Time and again, taxi.eu received minus 

points due to the lack of this payment option in various comparison 

tests between national and international taxi apps. 

Recently, the app lost by a close vote to mytaxi in a ranking of 

the German consumer portal ‘Vergleich.org’. For the future, they 

are hoping for better ratings and a leap to first place. 

PHOTOS: TZB 

● Be able to communicate in 74 languages. 

● Simply point and let the passenger 

read, they need only to nod or shake 

their head. 

WELCOME, 

WILLKOMMEN, 

BIENVENUE! 

Welcoming International 

Guests to your Cab. 

The Taxi Driver‘s Phrasebook. 

Order now from the taxi-Times- 

Verlag publishing house Munich 

www.taxi-times.com 

Phone: 089/215 48 30 75 

Autorin Gabi Kröber, 

Der Taxi-Sprachführer, 

18 

by Gabriele Kröber 

TAXI MARCH / 2015 179 Seiten, Ringbuchbindung, 19 

ISBN 978-3-955008-02-7 

19.80 € 

(inclusive of VAT 

+ 3,90 € shipping 

charges)

FUTURE TAXI 

FUTURE TAXI 

History on the 

inside, the future 

on the outside: 

the first Stuttgart 

e-taxis at a photo 

shoot in front of 

the Mercedes-Benz 

Museum. 

Project partner Dekra checks the condition of 

the tyres and the wear and tear on parts. 

ELECTRIC TAXIS, PART 3 

Fast and frugal: The Plug-In C-class drives up to 250 

km/h and consumes only 2.1 litres. 

PLUGGING IN THE STAR 

MERCEDES C-CLASS 

HYBRID MODEL 

Will electric taxis take over in the future? If so, when will it happen 

and which models will be used? These series report on the latest 

developments in electric taxis and their initial use in shift operations. 

Four Mercedes-Benz B-class models 

and one Vito, all with electric 

motors, have been operating in 

Stuttgart since August as part of the 

‘GuEST’ project. This is remarkable in 

itself given that the European version of 

the B-class electric drive has only recently 

become available on the German market 

and is still to come to other countries. 

As such, the four Stuttgart electric taxis 

were obtained from manufacturing sources 

in the U.S., where series production 

has been underway since April. 

In terms of the objectives of the current 

project in Stuttgart, this discrepancy is not 

of major significance. The key is to develop 

a sustainable operational model for electric 

taxis. During the entire test phase, technical 

issues will be examined and evaluated, 

as well as acceptance factors and willingness 

to use. Two scientific institutes (Zirius 

and FKFS), the companies Bosch and 

Dekra, and the Stuttgart radio circuit ‘TAZ’ 

are taking part in the state-funded project. 

The economic aspects are of course also 

being examined. Is it truly profitable to 

operate an e-taxi? There are three main 

factors that determine profitability: charging 

time, reach, and acquisition and operating 

costs. Companies and their drivers 

claim that they can cover around 120–150 

kilometres before recharging is needed. 

Just as with traditional combustion 

engines, consumption is strongly correlated 

with individual driving style and the 

additional energy used for heating, air 

condition and other features. ‘The average 

reach goes down noticeably in winter”, 

reports Raffael Pfeil of FKFS. 

For this reason, some of the drivers in 

the project have had to turn down longer 

journeys. “I was not pleased by this at all”, 

says taxi driver Marcelo Schellenberg. On 

the day of our interview, he already had an 

outbound journey. The battery was still full 

in the morning so there was enough power, 

but afterwards he had to drive to a charging 

station. In fact, he had to drive to three of 

them because the first two were occupied. 

After about an hour, the battery was 

sufficiently charged for him to end his 

shift. A double shift with the B-class electric 

drive would not be practicable. In fact, 

the city gave the field test participants special 

permission for dual use, allowing 

them to use their license in another taxi 

during charging. 

This protects them from losing revenue 

but diminishes profitability, since the 

costs for two taxis are incurred. It would 

nevertheless be wrong to base the feasibility 

of e-taxis solely on the reach factor. 

The participating taxi operations have 

accepted this drawback (which is also why 

Bosch employee Ian Faye has called them 

“the true heroes of the project”) so that 

many other factors can be researched and 

evaluated. How high is the acceptance by 

the general public (“unanimously positive”), 

and what conclusions can be drawn 

from the combination of tracking and performance 

data of the battery (which are 

transferred directly from the FMS communication 

system via an interface)? Are 

there significant discrepancies in material 

wear (to be investigated by Dekra)? 

“Integrative thinking is required in 

order to evaluate electromobility” concludes 

Dr Rüdiger Goldschmidt from Zirius, 

referring to the complexity of all the factors 

that need to be taken into consideration. 

This is also why so many project partners 

from different sectors are involved, 

including associated partners such as 

Daimler as a the supplier of the e-taxis, 

EnBW as the electricity provider, and the 

city of Stuttgart. The latter sees taxis as 

the pioneers in the transition to electromobility. 

Financial support will be provided 

for the acquisition of 100 e-taxis in 

PHOTO: GuEST 

PHOTOS: Dekra, Taxi Times 

Passengers can answer questions on 

electromobility via a touch display. 

2016. If the correct conclusions are drawn 

from the results of the GuEST project and 

the appropriate political decisions are 

made, this would be another opportunity 

for the taxi trade to project a modern and 

adaptable image. • 

jh 

Like a true racer, Mercedes has launched a C-class C 350 e on 

the market. The vehicle has a 279 HP petrol plug-in hybrid engine 

under the hood. It combines a petrol engine with an electric 

motor and a high-voltage lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 

6.38 kWh that can be charged with an external power source. 

Recharge time lasts from 1.5 to 2 hours. The two-litre, four-cylinder 

turbo combustion engine delivers 211 HP and 350 Nm while 

the e-motor provides an additional 60 kW and 340 Nm for a combined 

system performance of 279 HP and 600 Nm. The vehicle 

incorporates a seven-speed automatic gearbox as standard. The 

saloon accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds; the T-Model 

does it in 6.2 seconds. The saloon reaches a maximum speed of 

250 km/h, the T-Model up to 246 km/h. Standard consumption 

for both is specified at 2.1 litres per 100 kilometres. • jh 

20

GUEST COMMENTARY 

COMPETITION 

Future-look: the first mass-produces hydrogen-powered vehicle “Mirai” 

CHRISTOPH M. SCHWARZER 

… works and lives in Hamburg as 

a freelance journalist. He is a 

specialist in the energy transition 

in the automotive industry. 

»Highly paid 

lobbyists 

work for 

Uber – in 

Washington 

alone one 

hundred« 

ELECTRIC 

UNLIMITED 

INVESTORS BET ON 

 

THE BATTERED BOXER 

A Japanese automaker has introduced the first mass-produced 

hydrogen-powered vehicle. Our guest commentator proposes that 

the first models be used right away as taxis. 

From Madrid to Rio, from Seoul to Portland. Widespread 

bans on Uber have pervaded the past few weeks. Investors are 

not impressed – quite the contrary. 

Mirai is Japanese for ‘future’. This is the name Toyota gave 

its hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle. Company president 

Akio Toyoda personally handed over the first car 

to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in January. The U.S. and Europe are 

following the domestic market; initially only a few hundred cars 

will be produced annually. It would be disastrous if this innovative 

marvel of mobility were only to be experienced by influential 

people in high positions. The ideal way for the general public to 

get to know the Mirai would be to put it use as a taxi. 

Fuel cell vehicles are the ultimate electric cars. Rather than 

patiently charging an overweight and outsized battery with electricity 

for hours, the Mirai generates it on board. Electric power 

from hydrogen and the surrounding air is used to fuel the 113 

kW (154 HP) engine. The tanks are filled in three minutes. Then 

the car can drive over 500 kilometres, taking drivers and passengers 

silently and comfortably through the streets. 

It is purely speculative, but it would make sense for Toyota to 

provide some of the newly manufactured Mirais for use as taxis 

throughout Los Angeles, California, or Hamburg, Germany, or 

London, UK. The Japanese have understood that, in order to sell 

the cars in a given country, the infrastructure must be in place. 

It would work without hydrogen filling stations. These are often 

sponsored and constructed by state institutions. For example, the 

NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development 

Organization) in Japan and the National Organisation Hydrogen 

and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW) in Germany have done so successfully. 

The advantages of the technology are obvious. Fuel cell-powered 

electric vehicles have no limitations and are therefore superior 

to battery-powered vehicles. Taxi drivers would not have to calculate 

whether they can complete a requested route. The feeling of 

being tied to a cable is now in the past. So is having to calculate 

reduced ranges in winter. Fuel cell cars are completely flexible 

and practical. 

Toyota intends to convince customers with yet another benefit 

for which the Prius model is known a million times over: reliability. 

Many of the Mirai’s parts are identical to those of the Prius. 

In simple terms, the combustion engine has been replaced by the 

fuel cell stack and the gasoline by the pressurised gas tank. The 

aim of this is to keep the costs affordable, since the manufacturer 

cannot yet achieve economies of scale while the vehicle is still 

being produced in small quantities. The price varies regionally, 

ranging from US$50,000 to €78,000. 

Whether the hydrogen-powered fuel cell car Mirai can assert 

itself in the competition against battery-powered cars remains to 

be seen. What is clear is that it would be suitable for everyday 

taxi use as the perfect combination of permanent availability and 

low cost. The chances are good that this will happen. It is also 

clear that competing vehicle technologies tend to reinvigorate 

business. And this is urgently needed in a local market that has 

often been overly stagnant. The Mercedes diesel engine models, 

the hybrid engine Toyota and the electric battery-powered Nissan 

will soon be competing against a fourth concept: the fuel cell car. 

May the best car win. • 

cms 

PHOTOS: Toyota, Schwarzer 

ILLUSTRATION: Löffler 

With its service UberPOP, Uber 

seems to be in a boxing 

match and taking a massive 

pounding at every round. A ban here, an 

indictment there, a data scandal here, a 

rape there. Uber is getting the count on 

every round, and it’s working its way up 

to ten. Even so, the bets on the company 

increase every time the gong is struck. 

Investment companies are putting more 

money behind Uber. The company now has 

a value of $40 billion (see the comparison 

on page 25). 

Filthy rich, but illegal. The American 

company is being shown its limits, especially 

with its UberPOP service. Governments 

and courts in more and more 

countries are pronouncing unequivocal 

bans. UberPOP has been illegal in Rio de 

Janeiro since December; in Europe, the service 

was banned in the Netherlands and 

Spain, and as of the new year in France. In 

Asia, Uber has been banned in India, South 

Korea and Thailand. China followed suit at 

the beginning of January. The Ministry of 

Transportation banned several ride-sharing 

apps used to contact private drivers without 

taxi licences. 

Even in Uber’s country of origin, the group 

and its domestic competitor Lyft have each 

had to retreat. Operations were banned by 

the State of Nevada on 26 November, and 

operations were suspended in Portland, 

Oregon on 21 December. 

In many other regions, the Uber management 

was not deterred. With the help 

of billions of dollars from investment bankers 

who continue to support the company 

in spite of negative headlines (in India, for 

example, an Uber driver was reported to 

have raped a woman), Travis Kalanick and 

his employees pay the fines that are due 

or hire expensive lawyers to appeal such 

decisions in court. Highly paid lobbyists 

also work for Uber. In Washington alone 

there are said to be 100 lobbyists who are 

in close contact with local politicians. 

But even these measures fail in many 

places. In Germany, the objection by an 

administrative court in Hamburg to the 

UberPOP ban was dismissed by the highest 

court authority back in November. In order 

to keep the service afloat, Uber is now 

offering rides at dumping prices below 

vehicle costs in Hamburg, Berlin and Düsseldorf, 

which is legal under German law. 

The drivers are said to receive payments 

to make up for the low fares. 

In Spain, the court pronounced a ban at 

the beginning of December, yet Uber continued 

to offer UberPOP. Spain’s Supreme 

Court pulled the plug on 27 December. The 

telecommunications services and credit 

card service providers were then ordered 

not to provide service to Uber ‘effective 

immediately’. The company was thereby 

deprived of the technical foundation of its 

business idea. A few days later, Spain’s 

Uber manager Carles Lloret announced the 

discontinuation of the UberPOP service. 

This brings us to another boxing match 

analogy: brought down by a technical 

knockout. The investors will not be pleased 

at how this ends. n 

jh 

DID YOU KNOW … 

Taxi Times reports twice a week 

in its newsletter on all the 

Uber developments and many 

other current events from the taxi 

industry. Register now at 

www.taxi-times.com.newsletter. 


23

COMPETITION 

COMPETITION 

Will the top management of 

Mercedes gradually lose its focus 

on the taxi industry? 

UBER AND 

MERCEDES 

IN THE 

SAME BOAT 

The recently announced alliance between an expanding ride sharing 

app and the ridesharing service Uber puts a long-standing partnership 

between Mercedes and the taxi industry at risk. 

KIND OF 

BLOATED 

What began as a small start-up 

now has a company value of over 

$40 billion (just under €36 billion). 

Uber is moving into an arena 

occupied by large companies that 

have taken decades to grow. 

40 

milliarden 

$ 

“OUR MEMBERS ARE 

VERY UPSET” 

Taxi associations and companies in 

other countries have also expressed 

indignation over the cooperation 

with Uber. The activities with regard 

to myTaxi and Blacklane had already 

caused a certain degree of unrest. 

A taxi company in Belgium – traditionally 

Mercedes users – initially 

decided to cancel an order of 40 new 

Mercedes taxis. The Belgian taxi association 

GTL sent a letter of complaint 

to Mercedes-Benz Belgium, urgently 

demanding an explanation. “We don’t 

want to make things worse”, said 

Pierre Steenberghen, general secretary 

of GTL, “but we want to send a 

clear message that our members are 

very upset about the cooperation 

between the ‘taxi brand’ and Uber.” 

The taxi association KNV Taxi in the 

Netherlands also asked the national 

Mercedes subsidiary for clarification 

on the cooperation with Uber. Daimler’s 

comment was that “we intend to 

redefine intelligent, intermodal mobility 

with the mobility platform Moovel 

and show customers how to get from 

A to B. (…) Our goal is to work in 

close partnership with the taxi industry 

in order to exploit together the 

potential of the mobile Internet.” wf 

The integration of Uber is a first 

step towards offering complete 

door-to-door mobility for medium 

and long distance routes.” The statement 

by Carpooling CEO Markus Barnikel 

explains the cooperation between his 

platform ‘mitfahrgelegenheit.de’ (international 

‘carpooling.com’) and Uber. 

The app captures the concept behind 

the sharing economy: someone with a 

car takes someone else without a car 

along on his medium to long distance 

journey and receives compensation for 

the transportation costs. Mit fahr gelegenheit.de 

serves as a platform for both 

parties to connect. Use of the platform 

was initially free when it launched 

around ten years ago. That changed 

when Mercedes joined the company in 

2012. Shortly afterwards, a commission 

system was established. The ridesharing 

portal then also began taking in a 

share of the costs. 

Carpooling expanded to North America 

in 2014, where it worked on establishing 

its platform in close cooperation 

with Uber. This cooperation is now also 

being pursued in Germany with 

reversed roles. Now Carpooling is helping 

the U.S. company with its European 

network, a move that was received with 

outrage from the taxi industry. 

The indirect connection between the 

illegal activities of the ridesharing company 

with its UberPOP service and Mercedes-Benz 

was quickly recognised in 

the U.S. Daimler invested around €8 

million in Carpooling in 2012 and holds 

around 17 per cent of the company’s 

shares. 

“Anyone who is cooperating with 

Uber is working against our industry”, 

says Ertan Ucar, chairman of the association 

Taxi Deutschland, Berlin, criticising 

the Daimler group. “As carmakers, 

Daimler should side with the drivers of 

its saloons instead of forming an unholy 

alliance against the taxi industry”, 

says Hermann Waldner, who unites 

around 130 radio circuits with over 

65,000 drivers throughout Europe with 

the taxi.eu app. 

The discontent regarding the role of 

Mercedes is also making things difficult 

for the federal association BZP (German 

taxi and private hire association). Several 

member headquarters and state 

associations are demanding a clear position 

from the BZP against Mercedes – 

and some of them would like the group 

to lose its supporting membership. Others 

doubt whether such threatening gestures 

could convince a global company 

to change its strategy. “The annual support 

BZP receives from Mercedes is 

nearly 3 per cent of the amount that was 

initially invested in Carpooling in 

2012”, says one industry insider. This 

shows just where the vehicle manufacturer 

has set its priorities. • jh 

PHOTO: Taxi Times 

PHOTOS: DHL, Taxi Times, Unicredit, Delta-Airlines 

MERCEDES-BENZ / DAIMLER AG 

UNILEVER 

DEUTSCHE POST AG 

Automotive group, currently transitioning 

to comprehensive mobility solutions 

Market value: €72.2 billion 

Employees: approx. 280,000 

Among the top five biggest food 

manufacturers 

Total assets in 2013: €45.5 billion 

Employees 2013: 174,000 

Shipping and logistics group 

Market value: € 31.8 million 

Employees in 2013: approx. 440,000 

DELTA AIRLINES 

Among the top three airline 

companies 

Market value: €31.4 billion 


»According to Uber’s business 

model, the intermediary takes 

a fifth of the fare. In order to live 

up to its rating, Uber would 

have to do more than just take 

over the global taxi market.« 

Quote from Handelsblatt, published on 5 December 2014, 

Last update: January 2015, sources: Handelsblatt, Wikipedia 

UNICREDIT 

Banking consortium 

Market value: €33 billion 


Data as in January 2015. Sources: Handelsblatt, Wikipedia. 


25

THE FINAL 

SUBSCRIPTION 

The ‘3 Taxi Guys’: from the left Rick Hewatt, 

John Lazar and Jamie Campolongo. 

THE CHECKER CAB 

THAT BECAME A BBQ 

The Checker ‘CabaCue’ cooks whole hogs. 

‘The CabaCue’, that’s the proud name of 

the classic 1979 Checker Marathon which 

drove around Atlanta and then sat in a junk 

yard for 20 years. It was recently given a 

completely new lease of life as a … barbecue 

and smoker. 

Strange? Not if you’re the ‘3 Taxi Guys’. 

A few years ago Rick Hewatt (Atlanta 

Checker Cab), Jamie Campolongo (Pittsburgh 

Yellow Cab) and John Lazar (Luxor 

Cab in San Francisco), found each other in 

their love of barbecuing. 

They went one step further and started 

up ‘3 Taxi Guys’, creating and supplying 

delicious barbecue sauces and rubs. “We 

also have a professional BBQ competition 

team”, adds Rick Hewatt. “And we now use 

the CabaCue to cook whole hogs in BBQ 

competitions all over the US. We have competed 

in The World Championship BBQ 

Cooking Contest in Memphis and in the 

Big Pig Jig here in Georgia, which is one of 

the largest and most challenging BBQ contests 

in the world! Obviously we are having 

a lot of fun with it as we compete in about 

7 or 8 BBQ contests a year and have won 

many accolades and first place ribbons for 

our BBQ sauces and cooking.” 

And the CabaCue? Hewatt laughs: “There 

was a reality show on the Food Network 

called ‘The Shed’ here in the US about a BBQ 

restaurant and the owners, the Orrison Family, 

in Ocean Springs Mississippi. One of the 

episodes is called ‘Smokin Taxi’, featuring 

the owner Brad and myself building this taxi 

smoker. It also featured the ‘3 Taxi Guys’ 

taking delivery of the unit at a BBQ and 

Blues event here in Atlanta where we cooked 

on the CabaCue for the crowd. Pretty cool!” 

“My repair shop here in Atlanta completely 

restored the car and together we 

put the CabaCue in ‘3 Taxi Guys’ colours. 

Don’t forget to mention our web site 

www.3taxiguys.com where anyone can 

order our delicious products. Our saying 

is: “It’s Cabilicious.” 

wf 

ONE MILLION 

REWARD FOR 

AN UBER-TRIP 

The Seoul authorities want to make absolutely 

sure its ban of the Uber-app is followed 

to the letter and hopes to engage the 

help of the population. Everyone who 

reports an Uber-trip and proves it with a 

receipt, photo or video, receives a 1 million 

Won reward – about 800 Euro. In the Korean 

capital dispatching trips via the Uberapp 

has been banned since July 2014. jh 

Curious 

Cabbies! 

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