Taxi and limousine services providers are increasingly using social media presence to improve customer loyalty and gain overall presence in the market. Social media is widely used by transportation service providers to increase their market presence by increasing the number of followers and establishing a strong connection with them. For instance, Uber, anAmerican on-demand cab transportation service provider with an international presence, has been using various social media stops to maximize profits and satisfaction of both, its suppliers and customers. Uber has about 22 million followers on Facebook, 1 million followers on Twitter and 983 thousand followers on Instagram. Uber’s Facebook account provides information on all the latest deals, discounts, new rides, riding arrangements and offers, and addresses consumer complaints. Through Uber’s Twitter and Instagram accounts, the company tries to increase its influence on customers by posting latest deals and discounts in picture and video formats.

Another trend in the taxi and limousine services market that was adopted by Uber is providing shared transportation services. Taxi and limousine service providing companies are offering shared transportation services to cater to an increasing demand of customers. A shared transportation system is an innovative transportation strategy that enables users to gain short term access to transportation modes as needed. It includes various forms of transportation, such as car-sharing, bike sharing, carpooling and platform-based ride services. Shared transportation systems are growing in the transit and ground passenger transportation industry, owing to the cost benefits this system offers to customers. For example, Uber is offering a shared ride service known as UberPOOL. Ride sharing companies such as BlaBlaCar and Drivezy also facilitate users to book a seat in vehicles according to their choice through a mere payment of a membership fee or fare.

The global taxi and limousine services market is expected to grow from around $187 billion in 2019 to $244.5 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.2%.The adoption of technological advances and the emergence of autonomous ride-hailing services will support the market’s growth.

Taxi and limousine service providers have witnessed major advances in technology facilitating companies’ operations. On-demand taxis and cabs are an example of the technology advances in the transportation industry. On-demand taxis and cabs can be booked through mobile applications, thus making the taxi-booking activity fast and hassle-free. Another advance in the technology used in the transportation industry is the development of taxi soft meters. A taxi soft meter is a smartphone or a tablet with a touch screen used as taximeter, that calculates distances using technologies such as GPS or on-board diagnostics.