But the benefits of a Texxi-like system, once established, are quite attractive. The program would require no public subsidies or infrastructure, and would cut down congestion and emissions in the highest density regions and during the busiest times of the day. “The Texxi model is intriguing because it seems to be addressing some of the barriers about ride-sharing,” says Susan Shaheen, a transportation expert at the University of California, Berkeley. One key benefit is that it can gather a critical mass of riders. “If they have a phone, they send a text message, and there you go.”

The Liverpool model, where one in five residents are students and a massive club scene produces a predictable glut of passengers on Fridays and Saturdays, could be implemented differently in other areas. The cab service could be organized around schools, shopping, commuting, or large events, Masaba says.

The mass-market potential of Texxi has some investors already excited about setting up their own franchises. Masaba says he’s in touch with potential backers in Australia, where texting is about as popular as it is in Europe, as well as stateside. Officials and investors in Texas, California, and North Carolina are looking to get involved—and inquiries have come from both sides of the political aisle, with Masaba fielding recent e-mails from former employees of both the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations.

A British businessman, Joe Olmi of TaxiBus, has also been in touch with Masaba on promoting a similar but more ambitious plan aimed at out-greening public transit. Olmi proposes publicly owned fleets of GPS-enabled shuttles that are able to change their routes on the fly as new users request rides with their cell phones. Olmi’s version could be a subsidized transit system, with its own fleet of vans and drivers in its employ.

“The technology is not a complex issue,” Olmi says. “There’s no great rocket science to it: GPS street navigation is just a bolt-on component. Mobile phone networks are already set up. Minibuses already exist.”

All that’s needed are a handful of innovators to put these components together in the right way. Then, with a system like TaxiBus or Texxi in town, jumpstarting an eco-transportation revolution would just require a cell phone—and two green thumbs to punch those tiny keys.

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Posted on Jun 21, 2007 at 5:58 PM
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