Spanish Taxi Drivers are Smarter Than New York Cabbies?
More than 200 taxi drivers in Marbella and San Pedro de Alcántara are installing GPS location systems in their taxis, to improve the quality of service offered to customers.
It will cost each of them 2,500 euros, although subsidies may be available from the Junta de Andalucía and the European Union.
The system, which is already working successfully in other areas of Spain, will be installed after the summer.Source
Here’s an interesting quickie that relates to the two recent posts on the moaning, bitching and phony discrimination charges by New York City taxi drivers regarding the requirement that they install GPS tracking on their cabs.
One has to wonder, what is it that makes taxi drivers in Marbella, Spain so much more technically and business attuned than taxi drivers in New York? The investment seems large to me as I have commented on regarding the New York issue, but still there’s no doubt that the business advantages will outweighs the cost.
Are we in the US just not taught the value of making an investment to gain greater returns on the investment, or is there some basic difference in mindsets? Just to be a taxi driver in New York is a significant investment in both time and money. There’s a potential for profit, but it’s not profit that comes easily. A lot of hours and a lot of business savvy are needed to keep from going broke.
So when an industry-wide initiative comes along and offers a real chance at more profit from the same work, all we seem to be able to do in the USA is moan and bitch instead of moving forward.
Frankly, if I was involved in the New York City issue I’d retract the mandatory proposal and just offer some mild incentives to those drivers who were smart enough to take advantage of technology. The Luddites should then fall by the wayside.
Of course, the issue that no one seems to be able to talk about is crookedness of the drivers. New York cabbies are well known for being some of the worst in the world for preying on tourists and others who don’t know their way around. Are the drivers making all this fuss about GPS because they really feel that fraud and theft are such a large part of their business that they can’t afford to give honest service?
Makes one wonder a bit. How honest are your drivers?