220 users on Ghost

There are currently 220 users of the Ghost booking and dispatch software from Autocab. It has proved to be the fastest selling package on the market today becoming the first (and natural) choice for current Autocab users upgrading their system and also for new customers making the switch to Autocab.

Excellent pricing structure in Ghost

The Ghost dispatch system uses a unique combination of fixed & variable pricing to achieve seamless efficiency. Every tariff is calendar compliant, progressive (by distance) and recognises vehicle and driver ‘types’. Furthermore you can control passenger limits, priorities and a whole host of other features.

Spot-on pricing module

The pricing module uses many factors to deliver spot-on prices time & time again. Amongst the most important factors are accuracy of location and job ‘routing’ – Ghost uses TeleAtlas data and Routemaster to satisfy both these requirements. Street data is accurate to +/- 4 meters and mapping recognises house numbering whilst postcodes are accurate to +/- 50 meters. Routing preferences can be set with a combination of rules as required ( i.e., shortest route for the first 2 miles, then fastest). So location and distance travelled are going to be right every time.

Ghost first looks for a fixed price matching the journey – if it finds one it will use it (and will not try to apply a variable price to that

job). Ghost’s fixed prices are ‘smart’ - they allow you to define a group of addresses (well knowns, streets, areas, postcodes or a mixture of these ) that are ‘valid’ at each end of the job. So, rather than having hundreds of individual fixed prices, you just have one ‘smart’ one. The system does the difficult bit by identifying a ‘match’ for the addresses at each end - that’s as hard as it gets!

Fixed or variable pricing

If Ghost can’t find a fixed price ‘match’ it will revert to a variable price tariff table and, you can have as many of these as you like to meet all your requirements. These variable tariffs will all be fully functioning and configurable – just like having a taximeter on your desk and they will display the correct tariff price for the job when you book it. All things being considered, Ghost’s pricing system is worth it’s weight in gold.

Steve Bond, owner at Halton Taxis in Widnes, has recently upgraded to Ghost from our Classic system and is already seeing the

benefits. Pleased with the installation he was happy to contribute some positive feedback, he said…

Great install - the smoothest yet

“…The install went great. It was the smoothest transition yet. We were very impressed with the engineers they really know their stuff, especially Anthony Hill (Autocab Field Engineer) special mentions too for James Raynor and Alex Stewart from the support desk…

Halton Taxis are delighted with Ghost

…we are very happy with the Ghost system and in particular the pricing structure and accounts. We can now email invoices which have saved us a lot of time. The drivers love the Dataheads so overall we think Autocab is a fantastic system…”

Thank you for helping us to have the best stand at

the PHTM show

In previous years at the PHTM exhibition Autocab have always lead the way for ideas and innovation by displaying our industry leading products and live demonstrations at our stand. This year was no different. In keeping with our tradition of launching new and profit-making products every year we introduced three industry-changing products at our Autocab user conference in March this year. These exciting new products are CabMedia, CabExchange and the Premium app. These products will integrate to change the shape of the private hire taxi industry making it more profitable and vibrant than ever before. We also sported a new and exciting stand that dominated the arena. The stand proved to be the big attraction at this years event. Throughout the day there were presentations of all our latest products with our technical experts on hand to offer advice and answer questions.

We put a great deal of time and hard work into our offering this year and it was most rewarding to see the crowds surrounding our stand for a demonstration of our products. We had some great feedback from visitors many of whom regarded our effort as the best at the show.

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Autocab steal the show! 100’s of firms excited about our new products

Halton Taxis – Widnes upgrade to Ghost

GPC Computer Software, Cheadle Royal Business Park, Oakfield Road, Cheadle, SK8 3GX +44 (0) 161 491 7777 info@autocab.com autocab.com

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autocabInternationalwelcome to the future

autocab expressautocab expressTel: +44 (0) 161 491 77 77 Fax: +44 (0) 161 491 77 11 Email: info@autocab.com Web: autocab.comTel: +44 (0) 161 491 77 77 Fax: +44 (0) 161 491 77 11 Email: info@autocab.com Web: autocab.com

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Keeping you at the forefront of technology

Life for Cresta Cars began in the small yet bustling district of Harpurhey in North Manchester. With just one vehicle a little more than thirty years ago and gathering a handful of drivers shortly after. Although the time has passed quickly, as it sadly does for most, it ironically seems like a long way off in terms of technology and how far the firm has come since those distant days. In fact, there is only one driver (who recently retired after just over thirty years of service for the firm) who can remember when there was little or no technology in the business. He has seen the company evolve and expand with the introduction of GPS, advanced booking and dispatch software and a variety of mobile data terminals.

Cresta have 350 vehicles

Prior to Autocab it was the traditional voice, pen and paper system that was used to operate a taxi firm. Anyone who has experienced using ‘voice’ to manage more than twenty cars will testify how much of a headache it can be. Fortunately technology has worked its magic and made those days a distant memory - for Cresta Cars at least. In today’s market, managing a large fleet like Cresta’s (which currently hovers around 350 vehicles with a steady influx of drivers and

serving up to 40,000 bookings per week) would simply be impossible. Success in today’s market requires the latest in booking and dispatch technology which brings us to Cresta’s recent upgrade to Ghost, Minos data terminal and the Phantom phone system from the Classic and Sigma system which was installed around five years ago.

Cresta Cars have gained 150 drivers with Autocab

Since installing Autocab Cresta have gained over 150 drivers and the firm operates a smart and professional service second to none. These factors have seen them rise to become one of the largest and most respected firms in Manchester. But the question is; why upgrade now? We left that one for Julian Barnes (Manager of Cresta Cars) to answer. He cited the firm’s appetite for success as key as he told us…

Our target is 500 cars

“…We want to expand - It’s as simple as that! We want to reach 500 cars and the new system from Autocab will help us to do so. We will increase bookings and attract drivers and we have one or two acquisitions in the pipeline as well. We have a very exciting future ahead of us…

40,000 bookings in a week 40% on IVR

…currently we are taking 40% of our bookings on IVR and we are hoping to improve that figure with Phantom which will also help us to reduce overheads. The Ghost system is exceptional, especially the accounts suite. It allows us to email invoices saving us time and

money therefore making us more efficient…

Expand coverage with GPRS

…we are looking to become fully GPRS which we think is the way to go if we are to expand our coverage. With GPRS communication we could contact our drivers anywhere in the country which would prove useful as more passengers require long distance transfers these days…

Autocab system is spot on

...The Autocab system is spot-on. We have enjoyed a good working relationship with the company over the years and look forward to a bright future...”

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Cresta cars – Manchester upgrade to Ghost, Minos & Phantom

Loddon Cars - Reading switch to Autocab and increase business by 20%180 firms have switched to Autocab from other

systems

180 private hire firms have switched to Autocab from other system providers. Many have done so with the purpose of enhancing their business through expansion, improved profitability, reduced overheads and the ability to provide a high level of service to their customers which they were couldn’t achieve with their previous system suppliers. In fact, many actually experienced the opposite with continued issues of slow dispatch, system crashes and empty promises from their old system providers. This was certainly the case for Loddon Cars of Reading who had grown tired of false promises from their last supplier. With ambitions of expansion and improved work flow they had gone as far as they could so a change was called for. They made the intelligent choice and switched to Autocab.

Loddon Cars get off to a flying start with Autocab

Loddon Cars got off to a flying start after installing our latest booking and dispatch system, Ghost, together with the custom-built telephone system, Phantom. To top it off, they added our latest booking app! Mr Waseem Mirza, who bought the company from his brother in 2004 when it had 14 drivers, has been delighted with his firm’s change to Autocab. They became the 170th company to switch from another system when they migrated to Autocab last year. Since the install they have gone from strength to strength and have increased business turnover by 20% while reducing overheads in just three months following installation.

Take in excess of 40% of bookings on Phantom IVR

Waseem believes that this is largely due to the savings that came with the introduction of the Phantom phone system and its highly efficient interactive voice response (IVR) which, for most users, can comfortably

handle 40% of calls and above. Loddon Cars are already taking in excess of 3,000 bookings per week using Phantom IVR which is great news for the 80 car company. The increase in IVR bookings and ‘Auto-Back-On-Phone’ (ABOP) a feature which automatically updates the caller on the status of their taxi (freeing up phone lines), has brought with it a reduction in overheads as there has been less need for operators thereby cutting down on staff wages. If that wasn’t enough, they have our latest phone App and are looking to add text booking to their arsenal of booking facilities - this will surely give them the edge over the competition.

Loddon Cars love the Autocab system

Waseem could not conceal his delight for the achievements made since the switch and was keen to share with us his opinion of the system and it’s performance impact on his business. With some satisfaction he told us…

“…We are very happy. We love the system, Ghost, Phantom, the App and all the features that come with it which our customers also love. We have made a very big jump in such a short space of time. Since installation we have increased bookings, improved profits and reduced overheads. I am so confident in the system that I even allow potential users to visit my site with the Autocab staff for a demonstration. I would recommend Autocab to anyone considering a dispatch system…”

“…We are interested in the new products from Autocab particularly CabMedia and CabExchange that were launched at the user conference back in March…”

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Loddon Cars visit us at the PHTM show - “Autocab had

the best stand”

Waseem’s positive outlook continued unabated when he arrived at our stand at the PHTM exhibition, with more high praise but this time for the effort we had put into the show. He brought with him his two associates and it was smiles all round as his infectious personality provided a welcome break from the intensity of the show for a few moments following another successful demonstration. It was a pleasure and a delight to have him and his team visit the stand as it was to have all our customers who visited us over the two day event.

Many of our visitors, including Loddon Cars and other customers (not to mention firms using other systems) concurred that our efforts culminated in the best and most attractive stand at the whole event. This was a welcome accolade for all the hard work and effort invested in the exhibition.

Over 200 companies now using Ghost in the UK

The popularity of Ghost continues to soar as the total installs, including Cresta Cars, in the UK alone reaches nearly 220. This advanced software is proving to be the first choice for booking and dispatch software in the Private Hire & Taxi industry which is no surprise with its lightning fast dispatch capabilities and comprehensive management and accounts package. Ghost is certainly the package to give your business the cutting edge in an already highly competitive market. What makes Ghost an even more attractive package is the array of profitable integrating facilities including Phantom, the Premium App and CabMedia ensuring a bright future for Autocab users. To discover how you can enhance your business with Ghost visit us at autocab.com and see what we can do for you. Continued on back page...

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