One Transport Case Study: BBC

Over the past decade, demand for managed ground transportation in London has grown exponentially. Organisations in key sectors of industry - banking, legal, accountancy, consultancy, public services - are fuelling demand by rejecting costly T&E systems and seeking external guidance to meet the transportation needs of their people.

Navigating a path through London’s complex system of black cabs and private hire cars, many organisations have maintained multiple relationships with taxi and car companies. Wide variations in levels of service, management and quality have reinforced the demand for consolidated delivery complete with watertight business rules and leading edge processes.

About The BBC

The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) is one of the most high profile users of cabs in Europe. Approximately 35,000 cabs are booked across the UK by the corporation each month with 85% of traffic focussed upon London. Services are primarily utilised to safeguard the movement of staff and ensure timely arrival of guests on public TV channels, national and digital radio networks.

In a bid to streamline ground transportation arrangements, the BBC established an in-house proprietorial system during 2000. Codenamed ‘De Vito’, the system was founded upon an on-line booking engine which could be accessed by staff via the BBC intranet. Supported by a call centre for personal bookings, the system consolidated bookings for third party suppliers and achieved over 85% of bookings online.

However, the BBC’s core business is broadcasting not ground transportation. Developing the system further would have required significant capital investment and software support. A decision was taken to invite external suppliers to maximise the potential of the concept by providing a new service with similar specifications but additional functionality.

About One Transport

One Transport was created by Radio Taxis Group. Aimed at bridging the gap between transport providers and corporate end users, One Transport is a stand alone intermediary that provides operational integration for multi-fleets (taxi cabs and private hire vehicles) based on predetermined business rules.

The system offers open entry to transport suppliers meeting specified standards of vehicle and driver plus a willingness to absorb technological platforms. The objective is to create a ‘virtual fleet’ - combining the resources of stand alone suppliers through a single booking platform.

One Transport’s bespoke technology tracks vehicles via GPS, holding information on profile, status and position. Access for customers is provided via a single web based portal. Each booking is logged and allocated, passenger confirmation provided via e-mail, text or phone.

Distribution of bookings is driven by Business Rules. Designed to reduce unauthorised spend, such rules may cover time of journeys, fleet choice or vehicle type. Once a journey is completed, each transaction is electronically ‘scrubbed’ and passed for payment once approved.

Working Together

After a comprehensive selection process, BBC selected One Transport.

The platform went live in February 2007. Working closely alongside the BBC, Radio Taxis created a system that is accessible, easy to use and available via the Internet as well as the BBC’s own intranet service.

Bookings are secure and simply effected. A URL link out validates the identify of each individual, registers their charge code and encrypted password. The customer selects their required time of collection, vehicle preference and destination address.

Business rules are clear. For instance, BBC staff are generally entitled to order taxis to or from work between 22.45 to 06.30 provided there is no alternative form of public transport. All other journeys, such as home to work, unless authorised, cause the system to trigger an automatic warning of a deduction from salary according to P11D regulations.

Accessibility of service is crucial for a mobile workforce. Outside broadcast teams or location units with web access can now enjoy the security of being able to book cars. At present, 80% of total bookings are made online and Radio Taxis has established a call centre specifically dedicated to the BBC.

Despite the advent of One Transport, BBC still contracts directly with third party transport suppliers. The system allocates bookings to suppliers via predetermined ratios that are principally governed by performance.

Going Forward

One Transport is a brand new concept in ground transportation and further enhancements will provide additional functionality.

In order to maximise the potential of a Virtual Fleet, One Transport and the BBC are committed to allocating bookings direct to vehicles. This will eliminate any need to go through a dispatcher while providing a transparent link between drivers and passengers.

All vehicles will be linked into an XDA. Users will be able to go online at any time and discover the current location of their cars. Suppliers will benefit from improved information on passenger identity and waiting times.

Nothing is more frustrating for customers waiting for a cab than seeing empty cars waiting for passengers. As the BBC currently uses 11 suppliers, it is impractical to mix and match. Virtual fleet delivery will stimulate far greater fluidity by reallocating people to empty vehicles.

In addition, One Transport is investigating cabshare arrangements. In due course, staff will be able to look on the system, adding themselves to cars that are already booked and travelling to their area.

‘One Transport have embraced what we wanted, taken on board BBC culture and delivered something that looks really good’.

‘The system does what it says on the tin. It has saved £1 million of licence fee money and, overall, I am very pleased with the product’.

‘Other companies need to give serious thought to investing in this kind of technology and getting rid of their back office. Costs around capture and booking should no longer be relevant. One Transport points the way to the future’.

(Jamie Hindhaugh, Head of Sourcing & Production Resources BBC)