Eircab Taxi App

[U Wha]

A Co Op may have as many members as it desires PROVIDED the registrar has the proper documentation on record. Co Op should be restricted to 1 member 1 vote. No member should have a shareholding value greater than another member. Here`s where it tends to fall down : The AGM elects the officers. Now regardless of hiring outside "professionals", some inbred fuck will normally take umbrage at some perceived slight on his/her brilliance and then it all turns to shite.

Ha Ha, True! sounds like you have some experience of it.

Hopefully if it is made clear from the start the inbred fuck, myself included won't be upset. If ego's are kept out of it it may work. Wonder if it make sense to talk to other co-ops, GAA and Credit unions to see how they have dealt with it.

[U Wha]

You forgot advertising/marketing costs John M.

To quote Bill Gates; "If I only had $5 left in the world,
then I would spend it on marketing".

Fixed costs only .Advertising wages promotions would be discretionary spending .First you need to identify how much it costs to just engage the system .As I said how many jobs to break even .Then drivers will know based on the amount of drivers signing up how many jobs they would each have to commit to in order to make the idea viable or how little work might be available if the amount of drivers are oversubscribed .By having a realistic operational figure you can then decide if you need to limit the initial intake of drivers with a waiting list that will allow drivers join in  pro rata .Will there be a committment from drivers to cover all job offers as they are owner operaters .Co Op are a bit like communism where they are run for the Common Good as long as the other fells does more than you do but you get the same reward .Metaxi have this Game sewn up due to the tens of Millions drivers contributed to establishing it .FLAG have the fairest system but have no funds to attract drivers or passengers .I would suggest a 4 Million Euro budget would be needed just to have a chance not withstanding any retalliation from Metaxi .If I was to advise a driver on the most effective option I would suggest become a Mytaxi Ambassador ,they have the work simple as .

I don't think waiting lists are a good idea, in my experience drivers can be offended by that. What ever operation you start it should be able to manage any amount of drivers. As for a lack of work in this scenario, members on joining will be told other than the once off admin fee it will cost them nothing until they work. Drivers that do more will benefit by paying less commission as they move on a volume based scale. The ownership and shareholding are completely separate to the work.

I have spoken to a few Irish App development companies and they appear to speak the same language with regard to costs.

Wireframe to MPV (Minimum Viable Product) for 2 apps (Customer and Driver) on Android and Apple with Back End Admin functions and data storage would cost approx €15,000 to come up with a basic functional prototype.

This could rise to €50,000 in time as you add functionality and a maintenance contract can be negotiated or additional ad-hoc hours may be facilitated at an agreed hourly rate.

The biggest cost will be promotion and marketing. Although you would expect the members to be the best promoters and marketers with passengers in-car, handout literature and talk about the app and when all apps are busy cover the co-op work first. That would reduce the marketing to seasonal campaigns and no need for driver incentives as they own the app. Done right it would put other apps under pressure to spend more.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

A Co Op may have as many members as it desires PROVIDED the registrar has the proper documentation on record. Co Op should be restricted to 1 member 1 vote. No member should have a shareholding value greater than another member. Here`s where it tends to fall down : The AGM elects the officers. Now regardless of hiring outside "professionals", some inbred fuck will normally take umbrage at some perceived slight on his/her brilliance and then it all turns to shite.

Ha Ha, True! sounds like you have some experience of it.

Hopefully if it is made clear from the start the inbred fuck, myself included won't be upset. If ego's are kept out of it it may work. Wonder if it make sense to talk to other co-ops, GAA and Credit unions to see how they have dealt with it.

I was a member of both VIP and Sixes Co-Ops. Served on both comittees. The inbred fuck gene cannot be controlled. Disagreements on policy /direction are never seen/understood as being part of development but rather as a personal insult/attack on the person with the opposing view.  Even when the lowest / worst case scenario is presented (i.e. this is a possible outcome, can we live with it ) ,many will ignore the scenario in favour of the more likeable scenario that presents halfway through the discussion and then blame the "know it all mouth" when the worst case scenario shows up.
If the membership agree to operate from a "this is going to be total failure" mindset and elect the right intelligencia to run it, they`ll be on a winner. The officers and members HAVE to agree to disagree and protect the weakest link in the project. It`s all about truth .

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

I was going to join that Co OP yourself and SB were part of until I spoke with one of your members at DAP. (It might have been you, I don`t know ). He was waiting on a returning Co OP customer he`d dropped out . Said it was common practice. Now, dunno about you, but if I`d joined , that bullshit would have resulted in a major row. Tying up work is a definite non runner.

[dalymount]

more bleeding unnessesary middle men coming into the industry NONE OF YA ARE NEEDED . RADIO COMPANYS, APPS, CO,OPS, ETC ETC will you all please fuck off and leave the drivers to remain independent, and not answerable to anyone PLEASE

[Korky]

more bleeding unnessesary middle men coming into the industry NONE OF YA ARE NEEDED . RADIO COMPANYS, APPS, CO,OPS, ETC ETC will you all please fuck off and leave the drivers to remain independent, and not answerable to anyone PLEASE

You do realise that you are only one driver. I’m not sure who elected you chief spokesperson, but this particular driver does not require your representation.

[U Wha]

I was going to join that Co OP yourself and SB were part of until I spoke with one of your members at DAP. (It might have been you, I don`t know ). He was waiting on a returning Co OP customer he`d dropped out . Said it was common practice. Now, dunno about you, but if I`d joined , that bullshit would have resulted in a major row. Tying up work is a definite non runner.

Yes that was common practice. It came up at a meeting and the members agreed to allow return pick ups as long as the job was put into the system with the driver number on it. It encouraged drivers  to promote the co-op to passengers by asking them did they want  to book a return. If the customer had already asked for a return when making the outward booking the job stayed open on the system until a hour before it was due. If drivers didn't book it in and kept it to themselves  there was a disciplinary process that that the membership agreed to. Booking it in and assigning the drivers number was more to do with the base knowing where drivers were and to ensure they weren't given another job around the same time. You know yourself, Drivers think "sure I can slip in a flyer and make the other job too". When that goes wrong you end up with unhappy customers.

That process might have changed after I left the co-op and the baseperson may have assigned the job to a driver dropping out as sometimes it was hard to cover work with such a small membership. If I remember correctly the  o-op had to get  a lot of work covered by other dispatchers as there wasn't enouh members out to cover the work including DAP jobs.

[U Wha]

A Co Op may have as many members as it desires PROVIDED the registrar has the proper documentation on record. Co Op should be restricted to 1 member 1 vote. No member should have a shareholding value greater than another member. Here`s where it tends to fall down : The AGM elects the officers. Now regardless of hiring outside "professionals", some inbred fuck will normally take umbrage at some perceived slight on his/her brilliance and then it all turns to shite.

Ha Ha, True! sounds like you have some experience of it.

Hopefully if it is made clear from the start the inbred fuck, myself included won't be upset. If ego's are kept out of it it may work. Wonder if it make sense to talk to other co-ops, GAA and Credit unions to see how they have dealt with it.

I was a member of both VIP and Sixes Co-Ops. Served on both comittees. The inbred fuck gene cannot be controlled. Disagreements on policy /direction are never seen/understood as being part of development but rather as a personal insult/attack on the person with the opposing view.  Even when the lowest / worst case scenario is presented (i.e. this is a possible outcome, can we live with it ) ,many will ignore the scenario in favour of the more likeable scenario that presents halfway through the discussion and then blame the "know it all mouth" when the worst case scenario shows up.
If the membership agree to operate from a "this is going to be total failure" mindset and elect the right intelligencia to run it, they`ll be on a winner. The officers and members HAVE to agree to disagree and protect the weakest link in the project. It`s all about truth .

I agree and that truth is just as or more important than  the other elements  needed to make it a suchess.  If members believe in it, every thing else is achievable. So finding a process that works to prevent it is key. Other voluntary organisations  make it work. This is what  needs to  researched properly.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Truth is the keystone, everything builds from there. Anything less , non runner.

[silverbullet]

I was going to join that Co OP yourself and SB were part of until I spoke with one of your members at DAP. (It might have been you, I don`t know ). He was waiting on a returning Co OP customer he`d dropped out . Said it was common practice. Now, dunno about you, but if I`d joined , that bullshit would have resulted in a major row. Tying up work is a definite non runner.

Noel O'Loughlin AKA Private Noel, stitched up work regularly and worked the Kesh.

[markmiwurdz]

Dalymount,your sentiments are laudable but the simple face is that some people still like that human touch and like the idea of talking to someone to order their wheels (I'm not a company driver).

With the advent of cars off an Ap these will diminish but can't see them disappear completely.

[dalymount]

Well maybe I should encourage as many apps.and radio companies as possible to come into the industry.my hope is then.that they all end up cutting each others throats looking for drivers.and loads of them will go bust.yes I think thats the way I will go. I will encourage them from now on ha ha ha

[john m]

You forgot advertising/marketing costs John M.

To quote Bill Gates; "If I only had $5 left in the world,
then I would spend it on marketing".

Fixed costs only .Advertising wages promotions would be discretionary spending .First you need to identify how much it costs to just engage the system .As I said how many jobs to break even .Then drivers will know based on the amount of drivers signing up how many jobs they would each have to commit to in order to make the idea viable or how little work might be available if the amount of drivers are oversubscribed .By having a realistic operational figure you can then decide if you need to limit the initial intake of drivers with a waiting list that will allow drivers join in  pro rata .Will there be a committment from drivers to cover all job offers as they are owner operaters .Co Op are a bit like communism where they are run for the Common Good as long as the other fells does more than you do but you get the same reward .Metaxi have this Game sewn up due to the tens of Millions drivers contributed to establishing it .FLAG have the fairest system but have no funds to attract drivers or passengers .I would suggest a 4 Million Euro budget would be needed just to have a chance not withstanding any retalliation from Metaxi .If I was to advise a driver on the most effective option I would suggest become a Mytaxi Ambassador ,they have the work simple as .

I don't think waiting lists are a good idea, in my experience drivers can be offended by that. What ever operation you start it should be able to manage any amount of drivers. As for a lack of work in this scenario, members on joining will be told other than the once off admin fee it will cost them nothing until they work. Drivers that do more will benefit by paying less commission as they move on a volume based scale. The ownership and shareholding are completely separate to the work.

I have spoken to a few Irish App development companies and they appear to speak the same language with regard to costs.

Wireframe to MPV (Minimum Viable Product) for 2 apps (Customer and Driver) on Android and Apple with Back End Admin functions and data storage would cost approx €15,000 to come up with a basic functional prototype.

This could rise to €50,000 in time as you add functionality and a maintenance contract can be negotiated or additional ad-hoc hours may be facilitated at an agreed hourly rate.

The biggest cost will be promotion and marketing. Although you would expect the members to be the best promoters and marketers with passengers in-car, handout literature and talk about the app and when all apps are busy cover the co-op work first. That would reduce the marketing to seasonal campaigns and no need for driver incentives as they own the app. Done right it would put other apps under pressure to spend more.

 So what is on offer here .You dont own the app you dont have any passengers and you want 100 euro administration fee from drivers who will then pay commission on any work they do I suggested you do a simple cost base annalyses of the structure of your pricing so you could actually offer a break even point which would then offer drivers the opportunity to identify at what point their investment might yield a dividend but you never responded .So the offer is. I can download your app for a ton with no guarentee of work or I can download the Mytaxi app for free and they have loads of work or download the UBER app for free and they have some work or I can download Cab app for free they might have a job a month or download FLAG for free who lets wait and see .Or pay a ton for this app .I think you need to go back to the drawing board Nobody is going to give you a ton for absolutely nothing .

[Belker]

I have tried to shake the idea off, I have tried to take on board comments and suggestions that it couldn't work, but there is something that draws me back, something inside me believes that this can work.

Go with your First feeling U Wha "It couldn't work", maybe it would have a chance if it was the only app on the market, but it isin't by a long chalk !
Regardless of what you develop, it is going to need weekly cash to pay staff wages, Computers, Software, Lecky, Advertising, Etc, Etc...
And the only way to get that cash in, is to charge the drivers commission on their work and Guess Wha ?  Someone else already thought of that !

BTW I wish you ever success on your venture and I hope that I am totally wrong on my predictions.

[dalymount]

There is one point everyone seems to be overlooking

All these new apps,radio companies,coops etc require drivers.
Now if they dont all get their share of drivers,the first thing they will do is start whinging to the NTA to issue more lincences
So by joining them you are cutting your own throats