Dallas-Fort-Worth Target Market

Introduction:

“The marketplace is changing, and it will continue to change. We have got to be in a place where we let the marketplace speak to us and react appropriately.” (Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings on implementation of ride-sharing services)

The Dallas/Fort-Worth metroplex is the home to more than 7.1 million residents with approximately more than 1,500 taxicabs. The Taxi industry has been a mantle in Dallas’ growth as a city known for its political influence, and unique market structure for decades. Seemingly out of nowhere, Uber’s unexpected decision in 2014 to choose the Dallas/ Fort Worth market as one of its debut cities has arguably put the Dallas Taxi industry on its head. Since Uber, the technology app made its debut in 2009,

Soon the idea of cars that transports passengers to a place for a set amount of money began competing with horse-drawn carriages. IniBally, electric-powered taxicabs did not present a tremendous threat to carriages, mostly due to the impractical weight of their batteries. Since then, Taxi’s have grown an important role in the economies and transportation systems of cities such as Dallas. The Dallas/Fort-Worth (DFW) metropolitan area taxi industry consists of more than 1,500 taxicabs that are operated by eight principal taxi companies: Dallas Yellow Cab, Cowboy Cab, Golden Cab, Executive Cab, Starcab, Alamo Cab, Taxi Dallas and Ambassador Cab. Dallas Yellow Cab, owned by parent company Irving Holdings, is the largest holding approximately 1,000 taxicabs and 75% of the market. The question of whether Yellow Cab makes the market a near monopoly has frequently come up in question ager smaller taxi companies came together to file a lawsuit against the giant

1)

Although, on the whole, DFW Taxicabs are overseen by the City council who determine entries in the market based on public convenience and necessity requirements. Many laws and regulations have been put in place such as the Code and Rules of regulations and the Dallas/Fort Worth Taxicab Ordinances containing laws such as the amount of Taxi’s per passengers, having no more than 5 moving violations and or accidents in the previous 36 months, having no felony convictions, and be 23 years of age or older… The drivers themselves are independent contractors who pay licensed companies so-called stand fees for the right to drive their cabs. Both the city of Dallas and DFW Airport have instituted moratoriums on new permits for cab companies to deal manage growth in the Taxi market.

2) Pricing

Dallas taxi cab pricing generally is similar to one another. They are often composed of either ‘flat fees’ (eg: Love Field Airport and terminating at a location within the Dallas Central Business District) or ‘metered’ fees ( eg: by distance and time stalled). For example, Yellow Cab’s official fees listed on their website are as follows. Dallas taxicabs have had important roles in Dallas’ history and mechanics. Although, just as taxicabs began to compete with horse-drawn carriages, Uber has begun its competition with taxicabs…

B) Uber Market in