Recently I wrote a blog post on “Donate your Desktop” a New Zealand organization that had thought outside the box and found an untapped advertising/social entrepreneurial opportunity. In this post I am going to write about Taxiback.com a British company whose similar innovative thinking has enabled them to find a new untapped market to offer consumers cheaper transportation.
So what is Taxiback.com?
Every day across the world taxis take passengers to the airport and other destinations, charge their fee, drop the passengers off and then often return to their base empty. Essentially the empty ride back to base is a missed opportunity, to gain additional revenue from potential passengers heading in the same direction. Taxiback.com has capitalized on this previous missed opportunity, by providing the technology to create a return load service which links taxi drivers to potential passengers.
How it works:
Potential passengers enter where they are traveling to and from and the site functions as an auction where taxi drivers can place bids. Within 24 hours the 3 lowest bids are sent to the passenger, who can then arrange their transportation direct with the taxi company they select.
The benefits:
The cab companies and their drivers’ benefit from extra revenue and tips they wouldn’t have otherwise received, while passengers benefit from lower fares. This concept is also sustainable saving fuel and time.
I think this start-up has a lot of potential and could work well in other countries. I particularly could picture it in the larger US cities. However, my take home message from this concept is for readers to consider what other missed opportunities may exist in their industry, to rethink a task in order to create new sources of revenue as taxiback.com have done.
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Marie Wiere's Blue Sky Management Blog 
Marie, thanks for your article and sharing this idea. I think it´s a really good idea. Do you know how Taxiback earns money? Do they charge taxi companies for each taxi schduled through the site? Or do they charge the taxi customers? Or do they charge a monthly fee for being part of this community? It would be interesting to know the business model of the company.
Thanks for your important comment Gonzalo, that is a great question. My understanding of the program from my initial research was that the start-up makes money from registered taxi companies, by taking a small percentage cut from each winning bid. Further revenue is generated through advertising. The specifics however, do not appear to be public information at this time.