A tourism-focused transport business is branching out to create a ‘private Uber’ service that will cater to locals in the evenings.
Majestic Tours has set up a sister company, Island Ride, and has begun putting its vehicles into operation from 5pm until 11pm for the local market, using an app-based payment system.
Owner Nigel Mitten said the aim was to utilise the business’ fleet of vehicles outside of the main daylight hours, when their core tourism trade tails off.
He said the business, which launched last week, allows digital booking and payments for a private car service, bringing consistency and ease of booking for locals going out in the evenings.
“This was my pandemic project,” said Mitten.
“When we locked down for COVID and no one could go to work, I was getting so many calls to book transport and we couldn’t process them without our credit card machine.”
He said he had made the decision to “pivot to the digital age”, launching a partner tech company to manage its fleet of vehicles.
The app – available at www.islandride.ky – can be used to book one of a dozen vehicles in the evenings in the George Town, West Bay and Seven Mile Beach areas.
“We are offering premium rides through the app. It is a bit like a private Uber service,” he said.
“It is mostly aimed at people going out to dinner locally who don’t want to drive. The drink-drive limit has got stricter and we think there is a market for it.”
He said the aim was to offer more consistency in terms of the cleanliness and quality of vehicles – through the company’s fleet of brand new Chevy Tahoes, Subarus and BMW X5s. The rates are marginally more expensive than a taxi, but the price is per-vehicle, rather than per-passenger and the rates are consistent and transparent through the smart phone app, he said.
Passengers don’t need cash and can provide tips and feedback using the app. People riding alone, especially single women, have the option to share details of their ride with trusted contacts.
Mitten said this would help people feel more comfortable taking a ride late at night.
“This is more of a boutique service,” he said, acknowledging fees would be slightly higher in most cases than a traditional taxi.
But he insisted the service would be more consistent and reliable.
He believes the app-based booking and payment option meets a need in the market, with the pandemic accelerating a trend that may otherwise have taken longer to break through.
“Look at what happened with food delivery. Nobody calls a restaurant to order any more. People just want to go through an app. You should be able to do the same for getting a ride.”
The business, which caters largely to tourists during the day, is already regulated by the Public Transport Unit.
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It would be good if the Public Transport Unit who regulates this industry (or Compass) could do a follow-up to this story explaining how, if taxi rates are regulated, this taxi company can charge higher rates?
– Call it what you will, if I pay you to take me from A to B thats a taxi.
– The taxi rates are set not just to protect the taxis from a ‘race to the bottom’ in prices but also to protect the consumer from price gouging. You know, like some taxi guy charging you more than the legal cost to go from A to B.
@John B – I agree re Public Transport Unit. This should be a transparent process as there is another ride hailing app (FLEX) already out there and the government stonewalled the owners from having any reasonable success.
If this new service doesn’t charge per customer but rather per ride (i.e., you can get as many people into the vehicle as the seats allow for the same flat fee) that would be a great improvement on the rubbish system taxis use here charging per head. It’s not a bus service we’re paying for with taxis but they treat it that way. Talk about gouging. As long as the new app provides transparent pricing prior to the vehicle arriving and/or charging the customer, it’s caveat emptor and it gives us a choice to opt for the regular taxi services if we elect not to proceed with a particular ride.