Anatomy of a Killer App: Taxi Magic

We've reviewed hundreds of iPhone app reviews, and to be completely honest, there are far, far more misses than hits. Taxi Magic though, could revolutionize getting a taxi. Depending on your city and location, getting a taxi can be daunting, Taxi Magic allows you to use your iPhone to take the headaches out of hailing a cab.

We recently interviewed Ridecharge co-founder Toby Russell to find out the details of this transit revolution:

First, tell us a little bit about Ride Charge, the company behind Taxi Magic.

RideCharge was founded in 2007, is based in Alexandria VA, and started by providing technology to corporate travelers. The technology made it easy for business travelers to book taxis, pay by credit card and get expense documentation for travel reimbursement.  In late 2008, RideCharge launched a consumer version of the technology to allow anyone to take advantage of the 'secret sauce' -- RideCharge's Direct Connect Taxi booking and electronic payment engine.

This came in 3 flavors-- RideCharge.com, RideCharge technology that powers taxi company websites (e.g. www.dallasyellowcab.com), and Taxi Magic for iPhone and Blackberry -- smartphone interfaces. 


Give us an overview of the Taxi Magic app.

There are four value propositions to Taxi Magic:

1) BOOK--Taxi Magic makes it easy to book a taxi instantly without making a phone call.  People have been very excited about the instant taxi reservation with just a tap.

2) TRACK--You can then track the car to know when it is coming, because Taxi Magic connects you directly to taxi computer dispatch systems, and gives you real-time GPS information about when the car is on the way.   It is very cool technology and extremely conveninient for people who don't like wondering whether a cab will come.

3) PAY by Credit Card / CHARGE: No one likes carrying cash to pay for taxis, so Taxi Magic makes it easy to pay for the taxi with a credit card, right through the application.  It's the fastest, most secure way to pay for taxis. 

The app is free and booking with the app is free.  If you pay by credit card, there is a small fee ($1.50) added to help support development of the application. 

You get an electronic receipt by email for the amount paid.  And, if you're traveling for business, or need to keep track of your receipts, this is particularly convenient because tracking paper receipts is a real drag. 

Take us through the workings of the app for the end user. Is the app intended more for an immediate need for a cab, or a scheduled pickup later? How does the payment system work? How does the cabbie  confirm you've made a payment?

The Taxi Magic app was originally designed to get a taxi fast-- 'right here, right now'.  When a user opens the app, it uses the iPhone's location based services to present the user with local taxi options.  In the major US taxi cities, the top of the list has direct-connect options, aka 'Magic Booking' options that you can tap to book directly in the taxi company computer dispatch system.  It works 24/7 and is instantaneous-- faster than making a phone call.  

Then you choose how you'd like to pay for the taxi at the end of the ride-- A) hand the driver cash, or B) store a credit card and pay through the app.    With that, your reservation is submitted to the taxi dispatch system.

You get back status updates on your taxi -- when it is assigned, what the car number is / driver name + how far away it is.  Very cool stuff.

When you're in the cab, and if you chose to pay with credit card through the app, at the end of the ride you just enter the amount you want to pay into the app + it sends a message to the driver's computer screen in the front telling him how much you've paid.   It's SUPER fast and a really neat experience.

You're done and you get a receipt emailed to you automatically.


What kind of volume are you seeing from iPhone users?

In terms of iPhone usage, it has definitely exceeded expectations.  There's been a groundswell of downloads and usage with very fast growth-- tens of thousands of downloads in just the first few months, and consistent ongoing usage.

What are some of the challenges to implementing this system?

Some cities, e.g. Miami don't yet have taxis with technology in them, so when you open the app, we present local phone numbers for taxi companies that you can call by tapping the options.


Can you take us through development of the app. How long did it take? Did you develop in-house, etc.

We did all the development in-house and the heavy lifting was integrating to all the different computer dispatch systems of each taxi fleet in each city.  That took many months.  Development of the first version of Taxi Magic (1.0) for iPhone took a few months, and is ongoing.  We're adding new features like the ability to schedule a future reservation. 


Any feedback you can share from the taxi companies? How about cabbies?

Taxi companies have been very excited about Taxi Magic.

A quote from a press release we did when it went live in Dallas Texas is: "With Taxi Magic, our customers can now quickly book a cab and pay for it with just a few easy clicks of their phone. Customers no longer have to wait in the ever changing Texas weather for a cab to drive by. Now anyone can book one of our 1,400 cars simply by punching a request into their iPhone or Blackberry -- now that's convenience!"
-- John Donor, Manager of Dispatch Operations, Dallas Yellow Cab. 

Cabbies have been excited too-- recently we got word from a customer that a driver had said Taxi Magic was game changing for his industry.

How do you get Taxi Magic?

iPhone users can download Taxi Magic from iTunes, and Blackberry users can download Taxi Magic from Blackberry App World, or just send a blank email to get@ridecharge.com for download link and instructions.