Given the fact that little is known about the taxi industry on an international scale and more international cooperation is needed, Taksi Helsinki has taken the initiative to launch a Europe-wide strategy programme including a benchmarking study to map and compare European taxi companies and organisations. The study, for which questionnaires have gone out at the beginning of July, is carried out by Taksi Helsinki’s academic partner, the University of Applied Sciences HAAGA-HELIA.

Jukka Kuusisto, Taksi Helsinki’s chairman of the board, believes that “as we, in all our taxi organisations, are facing several challenges, such as changing customer needs and behaviours, Über & other non-taxi-industry apps and regulative questions, we need to focus seriously on (international) development issues instead of waiting on what is going to happen in our markets.”

The objectives of the strategy programme and the benchmarking study, which were launched at the recent ERTA-conference in Tampere, were outlined by Kuusisto: “As the appropriate public servants and political decisionmakers do not generally pay much attention to the demands of and the information provided by the Finnish taxi industry, Taksi Helsinki and its academic partner hope to gather relevant and objective information collected on an international scale by an independent and reliable academic source.”

He added that the decision to establish this strategy programme had already been taken earlier this year, but the fierce and ongoing discussion on proper regulation and the discussion about Uber and other non-industry apps, made it necessary to start right now: “Although we are true professionals with long traditions, we might easily be too introverted with our development issues. HAAGA-HELIA’s role is to be the innovator with creative new visions and ideas. The overall objective, of course, is to ensure an optimal business environment for our taxi operators in the future.”

Jukka Kuusisto can be contacted for additional information (jukka.kuusisto@taksihelsinki.fi or by phone on +358 50 392 2660).

Taxi associations or operators willing to participate in this study are equally welcome to contact him. The organisers hope to collect the questionnaires in August. This autumn, the university will prepare an executive summary of the research in view of organizing a workshop to discuss the findings and develop new strategies.

• Jukka Kuusisto (Taksi Helsinki): “The taxi industry needs a reliable international overview and a good benchmarking study.”