With almost 30.1 million successful calls to 131-008 in the 2013 financial year, national call volumes to 131-008 dropped by 2.1% compared to the 2012 financial year. Many of the company’s member taxi services are encouraging their customers to use their own locally branded taxi booking smart phone Apps. The company expects that calls to the 131-008 service will continue to gradually decline over the 2014 financial year as taxi users take advantage of these industry endorsed smart phone booking Apps, particularly in our large cities where the Apps are being heavily promoted by our taxi services to their customers.
The company recognises that this shift from telephone bookings to App bookings will continue to impact on 131-008 call volumes over the coming years. So, in 2012 the company committed to the development of a national electronic taxi booking system. That system is now being developed and the iPhone version of the Australia Wide Taxi Booking App is set for release early next year, followed by an Android version soon after. The system is entirely owned by the company and has been designed from scratch to the company’s specific requirements – A core system that accepts formatted electronic bookings, starting with a national smart phone App, and seamlessly routes the bookings to the appropriate participating taxi service and integrates the bookings into the taxi services digital taxi dispatch system. Australia’s taxi users will have access to a single industry owned and endorsed App that lets them book a taxi in most Australian cities and towns using their smart phone.
Total revenue for the 2013 financial year remained steady at 2012 levels. Administrative and operational expenses increased by 36% compared to 2012, primarily as a result of less favorable arrangements with the company’s telecommunications provider. However, a reduction in the amount paid out under the call rebate scheme this year resulted in a decrease of 33% in marketing expenses, which left the company with a net profit in the 2013 financial year of $29,195.00, a decrease of 44% compared to the previous year.
The Call Rebate Scheme was introduced in 2009 as a means of returning company revenue to member taxi services. In May and June of 2013, over $152,000.00 was paid to members under the scheme. The company’s new electronic booking system will require ongoing funding in the years to come, and that project has been allocated a significant proportion of company revenue. Therefore, the continuation of the call rebate scheme is under review.
Security of access over the 131-008 service continues to be a valuable and sought after asset for taxi services and two decades after the company’s inception, we still welcome new shareholder taxi services.
The primary strategic objective of the company is to provide taxi booking and ancillary services to its shareholders, and the taxi industry as a whole, at the lowest possible cost. The success of the 131-008 service and the subsequent benefits of that service to our shareholders, the taxi industry, and taxi users, could not have been realized without the support of our shareholders whose belief in the concept from the outset drove the growth of the service. That objective continues with the soon to be released Australia Wide Taxi Booking App. This is the most significant new project the company has undertaken since the 131-008 service was first envisaged back in 1992. Once again, the company is calling on the support of its member taxi services to get behind our new booking App. As with the 131-008 telephone booking service, the Apps success will provide a competitive advantage to those taxi services that support and promote it. And just like the 131-008 service, broad and substantial market penetration of the App will also result in the generation of revenue for the company, which will ultimately make its way back to our shareholders.
Finally, on behalf of the Directors and management, I thank all members for their ongoing support and we look forward to working together into the future as our industry gradually, but inevitably, moves beyond traditional telephone bookings.
Andrew Gilmartin
Chairman
21 November 2013
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