US-based Guyanese rolls out online taxi booking service

One of the promotional Book-A-Ride vehicles equipped with a billboard at the launch
One of the promotional Book-A-Ride vehicles equipped with a billboard at the launch

Aiming to ease public transport headaches for both passengers and operators, a United States-based Guyanese businessman Ken Deocharran on Friday launched an online taxi booking platform, Book-A-Ride.

The investment is pegged at close to US$500,000 to date and that number is likely to increase as the company seeks to expand its operations across the country.

The service, which is utilising a model similar to billion-dollar US companies Uber and Lyft, is expected to fully come on stream on August 7.

Promotional vehicles at the launch yesterday

To utilise the service, persons will have to download the Book-A-ride mobile application from either the Google Play store or the Apple store and sign up either as a passenger or driver.

The mobile app, the company’s website states, is supported by sophisticated technology, which would be the first of its kind in the local transportation industry.

“Individuals requesting a ride can view the driver’s location in real-time and determine his/her ETA, enabling them to accurately plan for trips. Additionally, both driver and passenger will be able to determine who either party is every time a request is accepted. Passengers can identify which car and driver will make the pickup, while the driver will know who the passenger is before he/she arrives at the destination,” it explains.

At the launch yesterday at the Palm Court, Deocharran, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the company, explained that having been in Guyana for years, he has observed the challenges in summoning a taxi. With that in mind, he has always considered the possibilities of finding a solution to such a problem.

“Book- A-Ride has been something that I have thought of since 2007. This is a company that has been in my vision for a while now…but at that time I did not have the resources but now that I have an amazing team here in Guyana, I was able to make that dream a reality,” he explained during the soft launch.

He stated that during the development of the app, much emphasis was placed on safety for both passengers and drivers. He hopes with this feature they will be able to change the taxi culture in Guyana.

All drivers signing on to the platform will be vetted and rated after every drop. This feature is expected to increase the safety and confidence of passengers, making them more comfortable with the service.

According to the businessman, with the new application on the market, persons can book a ride at any time of the day with rates fixed within the app. Deocharran noted that with the app there will be the elimination of uncertainty as once a ride is booked, the driver’s profile containing a picture of the driver, the model and colour of the vehicle and number plate will be shared with the passenger. Similarly the driver will be able to access the picture and direct location of the passenger.

In the app, a passenger will also be able to track the progress of the driver and receive a notification when the driver arrives at the location.

As a result, Deocharran said that a passenger or driver will not have to be searching for each other or calling back and forth to locate each other. David Papannah

When booking a ride, a passenger will have the option of choosing from four different categories of mode of transportation, varying from the regular taxi cabs to luxury vehicle, such as SUVs.

When a passenger selects a ride, they will be privy to an estimated fare before agreeing to the ride.

The CEO added that their prices will be competitive with the current taxi prices on the market and will not go above what commuters regularly pay.

However, the company is currently in talks with telecoms operators here GTT and DIGICEL to explore the possibility of the application becoming a non-data one.

“We are trying to white label our app. We’re at the table with both companies and we’re now trying to figure out how that technology comes together. It can be done. I was told it’s just that we need to figure out the API connection. So if that is possible, we will be able to go on, you’ll be able to log onto the app and use it without internet and data,” he pointed out.

Some local pioneering companies pulled out of the e-transportation market here due to internet connectivity challenges and hesitation to culture shift.

When asked what makes his company different from others that have tried to penetrate the market, Deocharran explained he comes with 20 years of experience in transportation management in the United States. “So I know, I understand transportation and transportation management is my core skill,” he said.

He noted that much has changed in the culture over the past five years and more persons have a smartphone in their hand while going about their daily routines.

“What I’ve done and I’ve carefully thought this through, it took me two years with a team of 18 people, including the developers and the management team…we’ve done numerous amounts of testing to ensure that this app is working flawlessly,” he said.

Further, the CEO indicated drivers are not required to pay a base fee and they will only be charged a small percentage of the taxi fare when booked for a ride. Customers will have the option to pay electronically using payment cards or third party payment applications or may pay in cash.

Deocharran pointed out that it is his hope persons will utilise the opportunity to earn additional cash to cushion the rising cost of living.

“This can also supplement individuals who currently have a nine-to-five job and want to supplement that. For example, on the weekend or in the evening. You can sign on, you could do a couple of trips, make some money, and that can assist you with your car payment, your mortgage, your bills, or whatever it takes. Yes, and these times are tough now, right, because our economy is growing, but yet we have inflation. And inflation is really digging into everybody’s pockets right now. And so I think Book-A-Ride will really help to solve some of those struggles on a day-to-day for people to move around the place,” he posited.

Book an ad

Meanwhile, Deocharran said the company will also be branching into offering advertising services on vehicles.

He said some of their vehicles will be equipped with small electronic billboards displaying company advertisement throughout the day.

“This is a rolling billboard. So the entire area that this car patrols or drives through your [the advertiser’s] information will be shared… So that is something that we’re going to be promoting very big because we see huge potential with that,” he underscored.