Uber disruption is working reverse with Taxi Lineup, a new service launched recently in Sydney, allowing taxi drivers to deliver parcels 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Taxi Lineup was developed by Australian business owner Anthony Lechner after he searched unsuccessfully for a cost-effective platform to get urgent deliveries across town at any time of day, on any day of the week.
The premise is simple. Taxis provide a large network of registered drivers that can be tracked across the city and suburbs, and are on the road 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whereas existing local courier services are mostly restricted to business hours delivery and a limited fleet of vehicles.
Since inception at the end of March, the young startup has seen a steady growth. With a network of more than 300 registered taxi drivers operating in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra and Newcastle, Taxi Lineup already services daily bookings – with a weekly growth rate of around 40% – for individuals and businesses across these cities.
The company’s app-development team has been simplifying and improving its booking process to allow customers to book instantly, with no account requirements. Users are able to track bookings from pick-up to delivery.
Taxi Lineup offers three delivery services: one-hour, three-hour and same-day – within six hours. Their driver network is increasing 30% per week, with taxi drivers seeing the service as a new important source of income. Some drivers already earned more some days with parcel deliveries than with passenger rides.
The company is looking to expand to all the remaining state and territory capitals – Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin, and Hobart – as well as important regional cities such as Gold Coast, Wollongong, Geelong and Launceston.
The idea is also whilst also generating interest internationally, with enquiries coming in from Europe, the USA, Asia and Africa.
