Taxi refers to for-hire automobile travel supplied by private companies. Taxi service is an important transportation option that meets a variety of needs, including basic mobility in emergencies, general transportation for non-drivers, and mobility for tourists and visitors. Taxi service can be an important backup option for other alternative forms of transport, such as allowing pedestrians to carry large loads back from a store, providing an emergency ride home when a cyclist has a medical or mechanical problem, or a guaranteed ride home for a rideshare or transit commuter. Taxi Improvements can be an important support for efforts to reduce personal automobile ownership and use, and encourage use of alternative modes.
1.1 Need for service
There is a pressing need for reliable public transportation in the JB city area. Bus service is not a viable option for many people due to the limited scope of operation of bus service in the certain area. The buses operation does not run very long during the day and they are very restricted as to routes and times during the weekend and off-peak times. As a result, public transportation is always needed for those whom the bus cannot serve.
1.2 Demographics
The amount of taxi business in the JB city area is strong and growing. The population in the greater metropolitan area exceeds 500,000 people and the community is dynamic and getting more vibrant with each passing day. The entire area has a low unemployment rate, a diversified economy, and wonderful year round events which attract tourist and people to the region.
1.3 Economic Factors
Not only is there a strong and growing industrial base in the region, the city has been quietly developing the downtown area for quite some time. New projects are being planned and built daily and the entire downtown property is expanding at a very fist rate. In the last ten years, there has been an explosion of new venues which have attracted people to the downtown area. The city has recently seen the implementation of several tourist attractions, expanded shopping complex, hotel construction and etc.
Johor Bahru is a city of opportunity and that expansion and growth fuels the need for more reliable transportation.
1.4 Competition
There are currently three other taxi companies in the area. Each company is severely flawed and yet still manages to generate incredible amounts of revenue. Only one company, Sunlight Taxi Group, the largest one, could be considered serious competition. This firm is prosperous and quite skillful at handling large numbers of clients. They currently have 4000 taxi drivers to date and have most of the prestigious accounts in town. The other two companies still manage to thrive in spite of the fact that they have much smaller income bases and essentially are driving outdated equipment in poor condition. During busy times, none of the companies can keep up with demand and customers have been known to wait for up to four hours. During normal operating scenarios, wait times still range from approximately twenty to thirty minutes. This wait time is unnecessary and quite destructive to customer support. Taxi companies typically do not fail in this area.