June 27, 2008
Dot2dot taxi service fails to take off
National Express's airport taxi-sharing business dot2dot has got stuck in first gear, the company admitted today.
The trains and coaches giant launched dot2dot last November. With 75 plush Mercedes 12-seaters, it promises to pick up travellers in central London and deposit them at Heathrow and Gatwick (or vice-versa) for £22 one-way, the only drawback being you will have to share your journey with strangers.
But today, National Express said the service's take-up over the last three months 'has not been as strong as anticipated'.
A spokesman said lessons are being learned in the start-up, which has not been helped by statistics showing National Express launched the business in the worst air-industry slowdown since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The company now plans to develop corporate customer accounts with the message that 'shared rides' are the future for those with an environmental conscience.
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Despite the positive growth anticipated for the full year, the bus and train operator intends to discontinue its airport transfer service between Heathrow Airport and central London. Revenue growth for the Dot2Dot start up operation has not been as strong as the firm anticipated and as such National Express said the firm’s resources are better focused on its core business.
Richard Bowker, chief executive, said: “Public transport offers a quality, sustainable and value for money travel option for millions of people. We believe this will become increasingly important in the coming months and years. The travel sector is not immune to the impact of a tougher consumer climate and we are seeing evidence of consumers becoming increasingly focused on securing the best value for money they can."