The Travel Preferences Guide from 2010

1. What Is the Purpose of this Document?
One of the stipulations of the Texxi Deployment Guide is that wherever possible
the mode holder will identify key people within certain social networks that could
educate and encourage people to use Texxi Travel Preferences. Depending on the
mode of Texxi, this could be someone who is around the University campus, the
hospital campus or a networked clubber. The following pages can be distributed
to potential customers, and are designed to assist Texxi managers in explaining
how best to use the Texxi Facebook application. This document leans slightly
towards the Evening & Night mode, but the principle is the same for all modes.
What Are Travel Preferences and Why Do They Matter?
The success of the Texxi travel scheme is how it automatically organises shared
travel; Travel Preferences are used by the scheme at the time of booking to ensure
that customers share with who they want to and at a price they want. This is
important for the safety and quality of the experience, and in the future it might
allow a variety of other preferences.
How Do I Control Travel Preferences?
Travel Preferences can be adjusted using the Texxi application on Facebook or
via Texxi’s own site. As of this version of the document, we recommend the
former because by its very nature, Facebook is hugely successful at spreading
trends. Like any application, as people join and create groups, stories are
published to Facebook status updates and others will see what they are doing. It
is easy to invite friends into groups, and to see what groups these friends are
managing themselves.
*Texxi claims no association with any of the social networking sites mentioned. Their brands are their own. The FT Climate
Change Challenge logo including sponsors is included by permission, but it is not to be considered in any way an endorsement.
All other content is the intellectual property of Texxi Limited (or of Crane Dragon Limited and is available to Texxi on licence) .
All Rights Reserved . 2004 – 2009. Document Ref: “TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210”. Purpose: simple introduction to
TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210. Texxi is a flexible scheme that can be deployed in a number of ways by agreement. Not
to be forwarded or distributed.

2. How to Travel Safely and Enjoy the Ride
Sharing transport saves money, sharing a journey with friends is fun; the Texxi
travel scheme offers you both, whatever the time, night or day. Unlike a bus or
train, Texxi ensures that you can travel with people you trust, and if you’re not
friends at the start of the journey then perhaps you will be by the end.
If you have used or are familiar with ‘Texxi – the taxi you text’ but have
reservations about sharing the ride, this document explains how to use social
networking sites such as Facebook to rate fellow passengers and to create Texxi
groups – tools that ensure your journey is to your liking. You can specify that
you’ll only travel with highly rated passengers, or with group members that you
either know directly or that are, perhaps, friends of friends. More importantly,
you can travel at an affordable price made possible only by sharing.
If planning ahead and fiddling with Facebook is just not your style then don’t
forget that Texxi, even at its most basic level, still has an intrinsic built-in safety
net:
- You have a licensed driver linked to a respectable taxi firm
- You will be dropped off at your door
- Everyone in the vehicle will be linked to someone who booked the trip
using a mobile phone; they may be strangers to you but not necessarily to Texxi.
*Texxi claims no association with any of the social networking sites mentioned. Their brands are their own. The FT Climate
Change Challenge logo including sponsors is included by permission, but it is not to be considered in any way an endorsement.
All other content is the intellectual property of Texxi Limited (or of Crane Dragon Limited and is available to Texxi on licence) .
All Rights Reserved . 2004 – 2009. Document Ref: “TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210”. Purpose: simple introduction to
TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210. Texxi is a flexible scheme that can be deployed in a number of ways by agreement. Not
to be forwarded or distributed.

3. Yes, I’d like to use Facebook to Control My Travel Preferences but How Do
I start?
The first thing to do is to add the Texxi application to your Facebook account.
This is very straightforward; sign on to Facebook in the normal manner and then
either search for the Texxi application on Facebook itself or follow this link:
http://apps.facebook.com/texxigroups/.
You will be asked whether you want to allow the application access (as with any
other application on Facebook) and once you have done so, you will go through a
couple of steps to associate your mobile phone to your preferences – so we will
recognise you when you text to travel. This will involve sending a text message
PASSCODE to the Texxi number 83994 and then using the pass-code sent back
to you as part of the sign-up process. That’s it - you are now in control and can
start organising your travel, and who you’d like to travel with. Simple default
rules will help you as you start, and can be changed and applied as you gain
familiarity with the concept.
Groups and Trusted Groups
The first step is to create a Texxi group and in the easy, familiar, Facebook way
invite people to join. These will mainly be friends and relations - your social
group - but don’t forget to also include others outside your main social circle
(work colleagues or course members perhaps) with whom you would be willing
to share a journey. The more trusted members you have in your group, the easier
it is for Texxi to find fellow passengers going your way. However to increase
your chances of getting a good price and keeping your waiting times low, it is a
good idea to not only to join other groups but also, in your role as group manager,
to link your group with others as follows.
Let’s say you have created a group comprising 30 of your friends. This pool of
*Texxi claims no association with any of the social networking sites mentioned. Their brands are their own. The FT Climate
Change Challenge logo including sponsors is included by permission, but it is not to be considered in any way an endorsement.
All other content is the intellectual property of Texxi Limited (or of Crane Dragon Limited and is available to Texxi on licence) .
All Rights Reserved . 2004 – 2009. Document Ref: “TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210”. Purpose: simple introduction to
TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210. Texxi is a flexible scheme that can be deployed in a number of ways by agreement. Not
to be forwarded or distributed.

4. people is quite small however and perhaps on a quiet night out there won’t be
enough of your group in town to fill the taxis taking you home - so your journey
could cost you more. If you’re still keen to fill the cab with only known, trusted
people then you, as manager, can choose to trust another group run by somebody
else, a friend maybe. Now you have a pool of perhaps 45-50 potential fellow
passengers, and all members of your group will be able to travel with all the
members of that group. Linking to yet more groups will increase your pool
further but, remember, as manager, your group members trust you to make good
decisions about who you link with.
Shared travel is all about trust and flexibility. A group manager can decide to
allow members to take guests, and for these guests to temporarily become part of
the group and by extension, associated trusted groups. So for example, if you, or
members of your group wish to travel with new friends who have yet to register
with Texxi, then Texxi is flexible enough to include these passengers as your
guests – text ‘plus 1’ or ‘plus 2’ etc. at time of booking. However, it is important
to remember that fellow passengers ‘trust’ you because of the group system, and
therefore it is your responsibility to ensure that your guests do not betray this
trust.
Using Travel Preferences Based on Passenger Ratings
Texxi, by its very nature, offers a safer way to travel than ‘the last train that could
be missed’, a night bus full of drunks or an unlicensed mini-cab. With this in
mind, a lot of Texxi users do not feel they need to use the group scheme but
instead can rely just on the passenger ratings scheme.
This option pulls fellow passengers from a larger group of people and could
make your trips possibly even cheaper and with shorter waiting times. It is not a
subjective system that is used to improve your experience from time to time – on
the contrary, every vote you make is electronically compiled into your preference
purchasing system and used the next time you travel.
*Texxi claims no association with any of the social networking sites mentioned. Their brands are their own. The FT Climate
Change Challenge logo including sponsors is included by permission, but it is not to be considered in any way an endorsement.
All other content is the intellectual property of Texxi Limited (or of Crane Dragon Limited and is available to Texxi on licence) .
All Rights Reserved . 2004 – 2009. Document Ref: “TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210”. Purpose: simple introduction to
TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210. Texxi is a flexible scheme that can be deployed in a number of ways by agreement. Not
to be forwarded or distributed.

5. The Texxi ratings scheme enables you to rate your fellow passengers on a scale
from -5 to +5, providing it is done within 24 hours of your journey. To vote on
fellow passengers you go to the trip tab on your Texxi application on Facebook.
Trips appear here after you have taken them. If the ratings scheme is allowed for
trips from that particular meeting point then you will see a simple and obvious
way of indicating your preference. The ratings you assign are private and are not
published on Facebook for everybody to see, they just express your level of
willingness to travel with a person.
The default score is 0, meaning that you consider this person OK to travel with,
no positive or negative bias – so, if your journey was good, there’s no need to do
anything. This might be the case with a lot of reasonable co-passengers.
Positive ratings indicate a preference to travel with somebody, for example +5
means pair me with this person as a priority - say, a close friend who lives near
you.
Negative ratings could be as follows:
-1 = slightly negative experience this time
-3 = reasonably negative experience – avoid if you can
-5 = very negative experience – will not travel with this person.
In time, by using this ratings system, you build up your own large group and by
being flexible and showing a willingness to share with any other Texxi user, you
are most likely to benefit from the best cost-effective and prompt service that
Texxi can offer. However, if this option takes you out of your comfort zone then
simply stick to the group scheme – either way, both methods are straightforward
and easy to use.
*Texxi claims no association with any of the social networking sites mentioned. Their brands are their own. The FT Climate
Change Challenge logo including sponsors is included by permission, but it is not to be considered in any way an endorsement.
All other content is the intellectual property of Texxi Limited (or of Crane Dragon Limited and is available to Texxi on licence) .
All Rights Reserved . 2004 – 2009. Document Ref: “TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210”. Purpose: simple introduction to
TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210. Texxi is a flexible scheme that can be deployed in a number of ways by agreement. Not
to be forwarded or distributed.

6. Making the Most of the Texxi Application
Available to all Texxi users through the Facebook Texxi application are driver
ratings. As well as building a client-base of responsible passengers, Texxi also
wishes to use only those drivers who help and enhance their operation, and this is
achieved through driver ratings. Rate your driver highly if he drives carefully and
considerately but remember, it works both ways - he’ll only rate you highly if
you behave responsibly. Regardless of how many people you may have in your
group, if you’re rated badly by drivers, it may take some time to find a driver
willing to drive you home.
For the adventurous who really want to fine-tune their travel preferences then
they can use a combination of the group and ratings schemes in tandem to specify
some possible travel options. A few of the possible mixes are :
1) Only use the trusted groups system. Say you cannot offer me a trip if
you can't group me in my trusted groups.
2) Only use the trusted groups system and I will pay up to the full price
of the vehicle if I have to go alone or in a smaller group.
3) Use the trusted groups system as a priority. If it's taking longer than 10
minutes then use the ratings system.
4) I prefer to travel in the groups, but use both systems at the same time
and do the best you can. Say you cannot offer me the trip if you can't
put me in a trusted group or I will have to travel with passengers I
have rated negatively.
5) Use groups as a priority, then use ratings, but I will travel with anyone
if I have to.
If all this sounds complicated, remember that these are only options; using Texxi
even at its most basic level still provides you with cost effective, door-to-door
travel by a licensed operator.
*Texxi claims no association with any of the social networking sites mentioned. Their brands are their own. The FT Climate
Change Challenge logo including sponsors is included by permission, but it is not to be considered in any way an endorsement.
All other content is the intellectual property of Texxi Limited (or of Crane Dragon Limited and is available to Texxi on licence) .
All Rights Reserved . 2004 – 2009. Document Ref: “TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210”. Purpose: simple introduction to
TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210. Texxi is a flexible scheme that can be deployed in a number of ways by agreement. Not
to be forwarded or distributed.

7. How to Contact Texxi
Eric Masaba
Chief Executive Officer
Texxi Limited
37 Warren Street
London
W1T 6AD
eric.masaba@texxi.com
Matthew Burden
Chief Operating Officer
Texxi Limited
37 Warren Street
London
W1T 6AD
matthew.burden@texxi.com
*Texxi claims no association with any of the social networking sites mentioned. Their brands are their own. The FT Climate
Change Challenge logo including sponsors is included by permission, but it is not to be considered in any way an endorsement.
All other content is the intellectual property of Texxi Limited (or of Crane Dragon Limited and is available to Texxi on licence) .
All Rights Reserved . 2004 – 2009. Document Ref: “TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210”. Purpose: simple introduction to
TexxiTravelPreferenceSystems190210. Texxi is a flexible scheme that can be deployed in a number of ways by agreement. Not
to be forwarded or distributed.