"City-Mobile": feedback from customers and employees

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

If you value comfort and every minute of your time, it is better to approach the choice of a taxi service with all seriousness. According to reviews, City-mobil is one of the best specialized services in Moscow, with which you can organize transportation by car. The information service claims to be a reliable assistant for those whose life rhythm does not allow them to waste time waiting for public transport. However, according to driver reviews, working at City-Mobile has more than just benefits.

Online service for ordering a taxi

If you live in Moscow or one of the three Russian cities (Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar), you must have heard of him. You don't need to read any customer reviews about City-Mobile to understand why this service is in demand among residents of these localities:

• First of all, the ordering app is very user-friendly. It has accessible andclear interface for selecting the necessary options. In addition, with the help of the program, the client always has the opportunity to express his wishes about the upcoming trip.
• Secondly, everyone who constantly uses City-mobile notes in their reviews that cars always arrive at the appointed place without delay.
• Third, most users are satisfied with the company's pricing policy.

What customers say about this service

If you have already used the services of different services to call a taxi, then you are probably aware of the shortcomings of each of them. One service, for example, launched an application that was inconvenient to use. To order a car through another service, you need to call the dispatcher, which is often simply impossible. Someone was completely disappointed in these services: the ordered car was corny late or did not arrive at all, or it arrived, but with a very dirty interior, etc. Therefore, the first thing that users of the City-mobil service note is the standard 10- minute delivery of the car and a convenient program for calling a taxi.

A huge taxi fleet is another advantage of the service. There are more than a thousand cars that regularly go on the line in Moscow. Through an application on a smartphone, the customer can see if there are free drivers in the area he needs. A huge fleet of vehicles is not only a guarantee of a quick delivery of transport to the client, but also the possibility for the user to choose a car class and additional options. The service offers economy, comfort, business and VIP cars for travel.

Ordering the service is easy, because there is no need to specify your location - the program will determine it automatically. In their reviews about City-Mobile taxi (Moscow), customers often praise the application's function, thanks to which you can call a car to another address, for example, to order a taxi for a person located on the other side of the city. An important bonus is the built-in city map, which is very convenient if the exact destination address is unknown or you need to find the nearest metro station.

Attractive for customers and rates for trips within the city. Compared to the prices of other popular taxi aggregators (Yandex. Taxi, Uber, Gett, Lucky), City-mobil offers almost the most favorable conditions. So, for example, the average check for a trip to the airport is 1000 rubles. Users also consider the cost of one minute in the city to be cheap - 13 rubles, while for the delivery of the car and the first 10 minutes you will have to immediately pay 199 rubles. According to customers, fixed prices are the main plus. People also like the ability to choose a payment method: you can pay for taxi services in cash or with a bank card through the application.

Another tool City-Mobile uses to expand its customer base is a loyal system of discounts and bonuses. Most of the users in the reviews about City-mobile consider the current so-called cashback to be a huge advantage - on average, 10% of the cost of the trip is returned to the client's account, which means that the next time he will be able to use the refunded funds when payingtravel.

If there is a delay in the car, unforeseen circumstances or disputable situations, passengers do not have to make claims to the driver, wasting their time and nerve cells on this. Any difficulties can now be resolved through online technical support. According to passengers, "City-Mobile" saves time even if the ordered car is delayed: there is no need to call the dispatcher and specify the place of arrival of the car - the current information about the location of the driver is displayed in the program.

About the history of the company

Today the City-Mobile logo is the most recognizable in Moscow, but few people knew about this service about 10 years ago. Then its owner, Aram Arakelyan, became one of the pioneers in the Moscow taxi market, which provides transportation services through online services.

It turns out that the original idea of the businessman was to form and maintain a fleet. But after thinking it over, weighing all the pros and cons (the latter turned out to be more), the entrepreneur decided to leave the idea and set his sights on creating a model of a taxi aggregator, which involves joining drivers to work by obtaining a special permit to the system.

The goal that the creators of the City-Mobile service initially set for themselves was to provide information to all service participants. As planned by Arakelyan, the client should receive information about the drivers who are ready to take him to his destination, and the drivers would be able to see free orders and respond to any they like. In this way,Since 2008, City-Mobile has been actively developing, programs for taxi service have been created, a democratic pricing policy has been formed and service standards have been established.

Increasing coefficient system

Speaking of capital prices, the average driver's check on the economy tariff is approximately 400 rubles, while the trip lasts an average of 25-30 minutes. Tens of thousands of applications are received daily through the City-Mobile application.

In reviews of the City-mobile taxi, multiplying coefficients are often mentioned. For drivers, this is a great opportunity to maintain income at a certain level. An increase in tariffs occurs with an increase in demand for a taxi service and a decrease in the number of offers at a particular point. The maximum coefficient is 3.0. This means that during the period when there are no free cars left in a certain area, the cost of the order will be tripled. For example, if at normal times a driver travels a certain distance for 1,000 rubles, then at the time the coefficient is valid, he will be able to receive up to 3,000 rubles for the same route.

However, the increase factor is completely unprofitable for customers, despite the fact that the system of fare increase does not work as sharply as it does for drivers. Rates usually go up:

• during peak hours (approximately from 7.00 to 9.00, when everyone is in a hurry to work, study, etc., and from 17.00 to 19.00 they return home);
• Friday night;
• rainy weather;
• hard frosts;
• snowfall;
• large events involving large gatherings of people.

As Aram Arakelyan himself believes, increasing the coefficient is necessary not only so that the service can earn more. To a greater extent, the tariff increase aims to reduce demand, which is many times greater than the system's capacity.

Is it profitable for taxi drivers to work with City-mobile

From the very beginning of his entrepreneurial activity, Arakelyan adhered to the following principle: never please customers at the expense of taxi drivers. According to drivers' reviews of City-mobile, this is true. From the very beginning of work in the Moscow market, the company calculated from taxi drivers about 15-20% of the total cost of the order. At the same time, the service continued to work on creating more favorable conditions for cabbies. For example, a reduction in the commission rate was guaranteed to those drivers who registered as individual entrepreneurs in a taxi company.

In order for City-Mobile to continue to hold a leading position in the capital's taxi market, it is important not to reduce the number of drivers. Those who want to earn extra money by driving should be constantly: on weekdays, and on holidays, and on weekends, day and night.

Nuances of cooperation with City-mobile

There are no supernatural requirements for potential City-mobile taxi drivers here. According to reviews, you can get a job only if you have certain documents. Otherwise, the company will refuse to provide access to the online service.

Besidesstandard requirements established by law, City-Mobile conducts its internal expertise. Since the specifics of this industry of the service sector implies a communicative contact between the driver and the passenger, a potential driver must pass a test that checks elementary knowledge of the city, the degree of knowledge of the Russian language and the level of intelligence. It is important that the taxi driver can keep up a conversation on general topics, and the client has a positive or at least neutral impression of the trip. To get a job in a City-Mobile taxi in Moscow, drivers, according to reviews, have to answer questions from a school course in geography, history, and literature.

Most completed trips end with service evaluation. The passenger must select a score in the application that corresponds to the quality of the service, and if desired, leave a comment to thank the driver or point out shortcomings in his work. The average rating of taxi drivers is 4.9 points. If the score falls below 4, the driver is temporarily denied access to the service.

Work Schedule

At the moment, every driver connected to the City-mobile system decides for himself how many hours to work, whether it's time to finish the shift or not. However, the company is looking for a mechanism to track how long a taxi driver has been driving without rest.

Thousands of drivers are involved in City-mobile according to the feedback from employees. The company's management strives for maximum interaction with taxi drivers, creating comfortable conditions for them. The driver mustto be able to discuss their problems with other people, to be an active participant in social relations, to have up-to-date information and to feel part of the community.

How to connect City-mobile

According to drivers, it is not difficult to get into a taxi. The first thing to do is to decide on the office where you can have an interview. Based on its results, a decision is made to provide the driver with access to the ordering system or refuse to cooperate. The basic requirements for connecting to the service are:

• driving experience (at least 3 years);
• citizenship of the Russian Federation;
• licenses for carrying out activities for the transportation of passengers and luggage by car;
• private car class "comfort"‚ "business" or VIP not older than 10 years (to work on the tariff "economy" requires a foreign car not older than 3 years);
• orientation within the city.

On the territory of Moscow, there are also partner organizations that are empowered to hire drivers. In one of them you need to come to pass the test. According to City-Mobile employees, 20-30 drivers get a job every day. Immediately before the exam, the specified documents are checked.

Employment Testing

In reviews of City-Mobile, taxi drivers note a huge turnover of staff. Peculiar exams are held almost daily in special classrooms designed for a large number of seats. The exam itself consists of three stages.

First, drivers must prove that they have sufficient knowledge of the city and are well versed in it. It is almost impossible for visitors to get a job at City-mobile. To assess the knowledge of the candidates, each of them is given a sheet with 20 questions, which they must answer in 5 minutes. Quests of this type:

• Where is Sokolniki Park in Moscow?
• Near which metro station is the Moscow Zoo?
• Which area is south, Cheryomushki or Yasenevo?
• and more.

The test is considered passed if the examinee makes no more than two mistakes. According to drivers, a City-Mobile taxi can easily get a job for those who often travel around Moscow and have some experience behind them.

After the time allotted for solving the test, the answer sheets are taken away. This completes the first stage of testing. Those who pass the exam are called the next day and invited to the next round. Despite the fact that the first stage of the examination is the easiest, as a rule, about half of the participants do not pass further.

Now you have to answer 10 more difficult questions. To get into a City-mobile taxi (Moscow), according to the reviews of those who passed the second stage of the exam, you need to demonstrate a more accurate knowledge of the city. The tests contain quite difficult questions, like these:

– Approximately how many streets are there in the capital?

• about five thousand;
• no more than 3,5 thousand;
• six thousand;
• one thousand.

– Which street is not part of the Kitay-Gorod Historic District?

• Solyanka.
• Nikolskaya.
• Barvarka.
• Ilyinka.

– How many boulevards does the Boulevard Ring have?

• six;
• ten;
• nine;
• eight.

Who coped with the task completely, moves on. If there is at least one error in the answers, the test is considered failed.

The final stage is an interview with the City-Mobile security service. The reputation of the company directly depends on the safety of passengers, so the company sends a request to the archive of traffic violations, finds out if the applicant had a previous conviction, etc.

What should be the car

Those who successfully passed the exam are awarded a City-mobile license with a corporate image. In order to receive orders and start making money on cabs, drivers need to paste over their cars with branding. This is an optional requirement, but still guarantees a certain benefit to the driver. It turns out that cars without city-mobile markings are forced to pay a higher commission, respectively, they cooperate with the service on less favorable terms. After pasting and checking the condition of the interior, the car is connected to the base and the appropriate tariff is set.

Taxi car can be of other color than just yellow. There are many more cars that drive in a different color than white or yellow ones. At the same time, the presence of logos of other companies on the car body is notallowed. It is unlikely that you will be able to drive under other checkers and receive orders from City-mobile. According to the feedback of taxi drivers who tried to work according to this scheme, the company blocks the account and denies access to the system.

When connected to the system, drivers are immediately warned of the obligation to keep their car clean. There should always be a sign showing the company's rates on the dashboard. Once a week, the cab driver is required to undergo photo control: take several photos outside and inside the car, and then send the images by e-mail. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in disconnection from the system.

How the driver app works

According to the reviews, City-Mobile has enough work for everyone, despite the many thousands of drivers who have access to the program. The driver app is as easy to use as the client version. According to reviews, a smartphone with the Android operating system (version not lower than 4.0.3) is enough to work in a City-Mobile taxi.

When the application starts, the driver's location is automatically determined, and in accordance with it, the nearest orders are displayed on the screen. The program itself calculates where and from where the passenger needs to be transported. The application determines the distance and indicates the amount of the commission that the driver must pay. If the order is not completed within an hour, the service commission may be reduced to 7%. But, judging by the reviews about working at City-Mobile, in Moscow this is extremely rare - usually the executor of the order is1-2 minutes.

Despite the fact that the company's management claims an independent order distribution system, the drivers themselves note that with a lower rating, the number of available orders is reduced. That's why it's important that customers remember to rate after a ride.

Organization of work

According to the reviews of drivers in Moscow, the application has several modes. The first involves manual sorting of the proposed orders, thanks to which the taxi driver has the opportunity to filter and take the order he likes. Criteria are configured personally by each driver. You can indicate, for example, the presence of a child seat, consent to the transportation of an animal, a ban on smoking in the cabin, etc.

In addition, in the City-Mobile application, drivers can see the class of car that the client needs. If a taxi driver has a “comfort” class car, he has access not only to orders where such a car is required, but also to those that are lower class, that is, “economy”. When there is a rush and there are no free cars, the application shows orders for cars of a higher class.

The next mode is "Yellow Robot". Here, the system offers the driver an order one by one. The taxi driver himself decides whether to do the work or refuse it. So, for example, if the point of delivery is more than 5 km and the journey there takes more than half an hour, the taxi driver has the right not to take such an order. The driver is not threatened with any pen alties in the form of a downgrade or removal from the line.

Third mode - "Green Robot", inwhich orders assigned by the system cannot be refused. They are assigned automatically. If the driver chooses to work in this mode, he will receive priority in the general queue over other taxi drivers, including drivers who fulfill the orders of the Yellow Robot. Pen alties are provided for non-fulfillment of the "green" order.

Which is better - Yandex. Taxi or City-Mobile?

Regardless of the selected mode, the driver always understands where and for how long he will have to go. With a fixed fare, the cost of the trip and the final destination are displayed immediately. The price may be set inaccurately if the client, for example, is not sure about the route of the planned trip. In this case, the navigator calculates the approximate length of the route and calculates the estimated cost. This is how the City-Mobile app works.

According to the reviews of taxi drivers who earn money with the Yandex. Taxi service, the situation there is completely different. The aggregator completely hides information about any trips from drivers. If a free order appears in the application or is assigned by the system, the driver can only see the point of delivery. The driver will be able to find out where he will have to go only when he has already arrived at the appointed place. Often, getting to the place of delivery is also not easy: the maximum allowed distance that a driver can drive before ordering is 5 km. Thus, having traveled a relatively long distance, the driver is on the spot, confirms the arrival by pressing a button, and the finish point of the route is immediately displayed. If the trip turns out to be unprofitable, the cab driverthere are two options:

• accept the order and fulfill it, since arriving at the point of delivery has already caused losses to the driver (he spent a lot of time and fuel driving 5 km to the appointed place);
• refuse to travel.

In the second case, a rating system is used against the driver, which, in case of refusal to travel, implies a drop in the main indicators. If incoming orders are often rejected, access to the Yandex. Taxi system is limited for two days.

According to reviews, City-mobil in Moscow is inferior to Yandex. Taxi in terms of the number of applications from customers during the day, but here the driver can immediately determine how much he will earn for the trip, and if the order is unprofitable, then feel free to refuse him. In addition, City-Mobile has a fixed commission rate, which depends on the class of car: for "economy" - 20%, for "comfort" - 10%, for "business" -10%.

City-mobile service has been using the "port queue" system for a long time. "Yandex. Taxi" so far only promises to launch this option. Its essence is to provide the right to take a queue for an order from the airport to the city for free. Previously, if the driver brought passengers to the airport, he had to queue up so as not to go back in vain. Now you don’t need to pay for the queue if the taxi driver brought a client of the City-Mobile service, but if the driver arrived at the request of another service, you will have to buy a seat for 150 rubles. Of course, the driver may, for example, not wait for his turn to come and leave at the next order from another aggregator. ATIn this case, 150 rubles. remain on the account, and the next time the driver gets to the airport again, he will be able to queue for free.

There is a loyal accumulation system for passengers. It works when the driver does not have the opportunity to give change after cash or non-cash payment. Let's take the following situation as an example: the cost of the trip was 480 rubles, and the driver was given 500 rubles. If he does not have suitable coins or banknotes, 20 rubles are debited from the cabman's account. and the change is paid to the client of the City-Mobile taxi. According to reviews, this is very convenient both for passengers, who can thus accumulate an impressive amount on a bonus account, and for drivers who do not need to look for small money.

If the driver works as an individual entrepreneur, the funds received for fulfilling orders by bank transfer are transferred to a bank card without any commission. Judging by the reviews about City-Mobile in Moscow, most taxi drivers prefer to work without car wrapping in order to be able to cooperate with other aggregators, including Yandex. Taxi. At the same time, not many people know that City-mobil pays extra to drivers for advertising the service. Every week, the driver must take pictures of his car, confirming the presence of branded stickers on the body. After photo control, 1000 rubles are credited to the taxi driver's balance

Taxi accessible to everyone

Positive customer feedback on City-Mobile taxi, according to the owner of the service Aram Arakelyan -the best indicator of the success of his business. About a decade ago, the firm was one of the few companies that maintained customer feedback. The City-mobil service, to the surprise of passengers and competitors, was one of the first to start tracking orders with SMS notifications. At that time, such an innovation was not even found in every bank.

Initially, the City-mobile system implied the mandatory participation of the dispatcher. Everything worked according to the standard scheme: the passenger called, the operator accepted the order, the driver received information about the trip, arrived at the appointed place, drove the client and received money, after which he contacted the dispatcher, who deducted the commission for using the service from the taxi driver’s account. But over time, the popularity of City-Mobile grew, there were more and more requests from customers and drivers, it became more and more difficult to manage the system through the control center, so the work was transferred to online mode.

About 90% of incoming orders are processed through the application, but the company is not going to refuse customers who do not know how to use programs on smartphones. To order a taxi, it is not necessary to use the application. Dispatchers are still working in the company, ready to take the call and transfer information about the trip to the drivers. City-Mobile plans to keep voice support until the calls stop coming in completely.