Taxi app could benefit tourism

Disparate drivers ‘failed to provide a service that met passenger needs’, an external review said. The service was not sustainable, dogged by low numbers of drivers, and the experience was damaging to the island’s reputation with tourists.

And although TripAdvisor reviews vary widely, there’s more than enough information available there to understand that the review was at least close to the truth.

Now it seems that things are changing, driven by a more coherent and better organised taxi industry and the States’ initiative in pushing through the development of an ‘on demand’ taxi app.

A total of 37,000 journeys in six months can’t be wrong. More than 130 journeys a day delivered through the app. Yes, you can’t pre-book, but the app appears to have taken much of the pain out of the ‘there when I want it’ needs of potential passengers.

Taxis are an important part of island life, and especially important for our tourist industry, often giving a visitor their first impression of Guernsey. That obviously needs to be a good one.

If visitors this summer get the message about the taxi app, maybe this sector can continue to grow, and carry on enhancing its reputation at the same time.