Customer story
Powering ridehailing start-up Whistle!
Goal
Find a way for Whistle! to optimize fleet operations, offer different service configurations as well as pricing and build a mobility platform for its service areas to encourage growth.
Overview
Whistle! is a ride-hailing company that serves mainly tourists in Tofino, Nanaimo and Whistler, British Columbia. It is committed to delivering a superior driver and customer experience, but lacked the right technology to help it achieve its goals.
B.C. only recently allowed transportation network companies (TNCs) into the province and there’s opportunity for home-grown players like Whistle! to make their mark in a largely untapped market.
As a small enterprise with a focus on operations not engineering, it needed a software vendor that could provide an out-of-the-box solution with a high degree of user-led customization including rider and driver apps, as well as easy-to-use reporting tools that would enable it to comply with government regulations.
- Partner
- Whistle!
- Location
- Tofino, Nanaimo & Whistler, BC
- Launch
- September 2020
- Service type
- Ride sharing
Challenges
- Drivers were unable to accept back-to-back trips, which means they had to wait until a current trip was complete before accepting one nearby.
- The existing platform did not feature a scalable back-end, preventing Whistle! from growing its operations.
- Lack of existing transportation infrastructure in certain areas combined with Whistle’s desire to contract drivers directly resulted in low supply.
- Hailing through the app only (no curbside desired) and no in-vehicle payments meant Whistle! had to get potential customers onto an app with an integrated payment system.
“My trip with Whistle! was awesome. I even got some great local recommendations from our driver. ”
Solution
Whistle! turned to Spare’s on-demand mobility platform to scale its ridehailing service. It was able to leverage the software to quickly iterate and find the structure that suited its needs.
It set up zones and fare structures to allow it to accommodate different trip types (i.e. local, airport pickups etc). Due to Spare’s ability to rapidly prototype, Whistle! can change these zones and fare structures in real-time using daily and weekly operational insights to make informed decisions.
"Thanks to Spare, we were able to launch BC’s first ridehail and modern taxi service that excites more and more riders week by week and allows us to differentiate through our brand!”
Whistle! also utilized Spare’s ride-on-ride capabilities, which enables drivers to accept trips while performing one. Spare Platform determines when the most efficient match for a trip request is an ‘in-service’ vehicle.
Drivers can be paid same-day due to Spare’s robust reporting system, making driving for Whistle! more attractive. This is one way the company has been able to address the market’s driver shortage. It’s also able to use the Spare Driver app in partnership with local taxi companies so their drivers can automatically field, accept and perform trip requests.
“I would definitely recommend Whistle! to anyone. They went above and beyond to accommodate my itinerary; it was truly a first-class experience.”
Results
With Spare’s ride-on-ride capabilities, Whistle! is able to generate 30% more revenue simply because drivers are accepting the most efficient trips on a continuous basis, which translates to more trips per shift.
Since switching to Spare, Whistle! has seen a 5% increase in ridership week over week with a significant amount of recurring passengers. It has signed up 5000 unique riders as of Nov. 2020, with 1200 of those being repeat customers.
Through efficient fleet optimization, it’s also been able to provide an average waiting time of under 7 minutes for pick-ups with a relatively small fleet size of seven active-duty vehicles and despite its large service area.
- Service prime time
- 6.00-9.00 PM
- AVERAGE WAITING TIME
- <6 minutes
- Fleet size
- 23