Research Proposal for Enhancing Fast Lane Taxi Services

Proposal for Research October 25th

Introduction As the marketing manager of Fast Lane which is an urban taxi service, it has been brought to my attention that the rideshare industry has made it quite difficult to compete with today’s market. The rideshare companies have competitive pricing and availability which they offer on an app for smartphones, which we at Fast Lane currently do not offer. Our taxi company is called Fast Lane because we want to provide fast but safe service to get you and any transported goods to the destination in a timely manner. When trying to find the best solution to help us increase and to maintain our customers, we will need to have a competitive side in order for this work we will need to find out what is wanted and needed from our customers. Finding out what our customers want and need will help us find new and better ways to assist them. A social media platform can be easy, fast, and possibly the most effective way we can reach our target. The social media platform would not be disruptive to people as most people use their phones daily, it would allow us to send out the survey to calculate results in an orderly fashion and it could possibly promote our brand. Competitive Landscape Over the past few years, rideshare companies like Lyft and Uber have become more popular. Their services are 24/7 and use an app, they have competitive rates, and charge less than other taxi services like Fast Lane. There can also be some disadvantages from these services like refusing to give a disabled person a ride, or if the passenger is not abiding by the law. If there is a high demand for a taxi the rideshare companies can make prices higher due to these demands. A difference between a taxi driver and a rideshare is that a taxi driver probably has more experience on city roads where a rideshare driver anyone with a valid driver’s license could provide the services. Having vehicle maintenance is important so you can ensure that your passengers are riding safely, with taxi companies they have regular maintenance done while Uber has guidelines to follow for example the age of a vehicle, there is no law for how you maintain them because the driver is self-employed. To gain and keep customers we have to conduct a research and analyze the targeted demographic on topics like personal information, competitive pricing, convenience, and safety just to name a few. We can use an online survey to gain a significant amount of people and get faster results which a discount coupon can be given once the survey is completed. Survey Questions The survey would consist of both open-ended questions and closed questions. The best way would be to keep it simple and short so that whoever is filling it out does not feel like it is a waste of time or cause any confusion. If the survey is too long we could offer the customer a discount on their next fare which could be used automatically or when it is convenient for them. Doing this could encourage others to participate, we could also offer a rewards program for

customers who ride often or for a first-time rider and we could look into software options like apps for anyone who has a smartphone. We will ask demographic questions to help address the problem that will include multiple measurement scales like nominal, ordinal, and interval. This way we can get accurate answers about the people who will use our services. 1. What is your age group? a. 16-30 b. 31-40 c. 41-50 d. 50-60 e. 60+ 2. What is your gender? a. Female b. Male c. Other d. Prefer not to say 3. What is your average household income? a. Under $20k b. $21K-$40K c. $41K-$60K d. $61K-$80K e. $81K-$100K f. Over $100K 4. Tells us why you chose the taxi or rideshare service: a. I have transportation but wanted to try something different b. I do not have a vehicle c. I do not drive d. I do not have/own reliable transportation The next questions would be about the customer's dislikes/likes about the taxi services, by using multiple choice questions. For the following questions please circle all that apply. 1. I prefer taxi services over rideshare because: a. I feel safe knowing my driver is professional and transportation service that is under management b. I do not prefer to use a smartphone app c. I’ve used the same service for a long time and I do not plan to change

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d. Other ___________________________________________________ 2. Taxi drivers are professionals and tend to know the city routes. What would you feel more comfortable with? 3. What do you feel fits your budget better? a. Not sure b. Both are similar c. Taxi d. Rideshare 4. Do you prefer a certain timeframe and does that make a difference in which service you choose? If so when would they be most convenient for you? a. No specific time b. Yes If yes what timeframe? ____________________ The next set of questions are likes/dislikes about the rideshare services. This is to help understand what the customers consider important so we can better assist them. 1 - Not important 2 - Somewhat important 3 - Neutral 4 - more than somewhat important 5 - very important 1. How important is it to you that rideshare services use an app to provide fair prices? 1 2 3 4 5 2. Is it important to you if rideshare services are independent and not the same as taxi drivers? 1 2 3 4 5 3. How important is it to have the service prices be consistent? 1 2 3 4 5 4. How important is it to you that the vehicles are maintained regularly? 1 2 3 4 5 Conclusion

In the end, asking these types of questions can give us a better insight on who we need to service, what services are needed more, and how often, along with how important these services are depending on the rideshare. The questions may seem generic to some but it will give us here at Fast Lane what we need so that we can adjust our services accordingly to best fit our customers and potential customers. We could also use the answers gathered to get an advantage over our competitors. By using social media we can send the survey to more people in a shorter amount of time which will help us to examine our results quickly. It is less bothersome or less disruptive of people’s everyday lives and time which also allows us to advertise our brand while doing it. References:

Helling, B. (2022, March 12). Uber vs Lyft: An overview of the services . Ridester. https://www.ridester.com/uber-vs-lyft/#:~:text=Uber%20and%20Lyft%20work %20practically%20the%20same%2C%20and,Uber%E2%80%99s%20SURGE %20pricing%20can%20make%20it%20too%20expensive Perceptions of safety among taxi and Rideshare service patrons: Gender, Saf...: Discovery search for Rasmussen University . (n.d.). https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=da8e13f3- 6dee-4370-a89e-1037dca9398d%40redis Taxi services, platforms and article 101 TFEU: Changing the shape of the TR...: Discovery search for Rasmussen University . (n.d.). https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=6b7a1c46-6bf9-4f67- a850- 14f4c05ece97%40redis&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHNoaWImc2l0ZT1lZHMtbGl2 ZQ%3d%3d#AN=edshol.hein.journals.mclr4.17&db=edshol Uber vs. taxi: Which is cheaper? (2016, June 10). Consumer Reports. https://www.consumerreports.org/personal-finance/uber-vs-taxi-which-is-cheaper/

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