Cab Offices

Hailing a cab on the Information Superhighway

Office on Wheels for Dublin's Traffic

Techno Cab: a Fax on Wheels

An Online Cab on the Super Highway

Taxi a high-tech office on wheels -

The Irish Times Wednesday, April 8, 1998

By Madeleine Lyons

Finally someone has managed to find an upside to Dublin's chaotic traffic situation. When taxi driver, Mr Jarlaith McNamara heard yet another business customer complain about valuable office time lost stuck in traffic (and we thought taxi drivers had the monopoly on moaning), he decided to do something about it.

Six months ago he set about transforming a Ford Galaxy into a mobile office, equipped with telephone, fax, email, Internet and PC facilities. Mr McNamara now plans to offer roving office services to his customers as they inch through the city streets at a snail's pace. With room enough for six people, he envisages the mobile service will provide the ideal pre- or post-meeting venue, where colleagues can huddle conspiratorially and execute last-minute functions.

Cabs On-line is the first service of its kind in Europe and Mr McNamara has enlisted the help and expertise of a number of leading technology companies in equipping the cab. Esat Digifone supplied a sophisticated PCM-CIA telecom connection by sponsoring a Nokia 6081 with transerver operating off the car battery. The Gateway multimedia notebook PC connects straight to the transerver, and the signal is further boosted by a five decibel antenna attached to the roof. Microsoft has provided the software applications including Windows 95 and Office 97, and Ireland Online is providing the Internet access.

Mr McNamara says he has encountered difficulties in getting the technology to operate flawlessly and it is only now the email is fully operational. He envisages further teething problems, and is taking a longerterm view for the moment. "If I can develop this properly over the next three months, and that will probably mean installing a satellite antenna for instant Internet access, I would like to establish a fleet of about 10 cabs," says Mr McNamara.

The cab currently looks like any other six-seater cab, apart from the discreetly stowed mobile phone and notebook PC. Mr McNamara will discourage people travelling short distances from using the service, instead they must incur a minimum fee of £15, combining distance travelled and services used.

"Today's cab service is the same as it was in the nineteenth century, when horses were used - except today we just have more horses. It is time we moved with the times and provided that bit extra, even if it's just a complimentary newspaper in the car for customers," says Mr McNamara.

Cabs On-line can be contacted at cabline@iol.ie or Web site www.cabs-on-line.ie

'Cab Offices' by Irene Gahan and Fergal O'Byrne Appeared in Business and Finance magazine, March 26th, 1998.

Jarlath MacNamara's idea is a simple one - a cab that has all the facilities of an office such as e-mail, phone access, a laptop and fax facility. For the past year and a half, MacNamara has worked as a cab driver for a Dublin Cab company that services business account. Many of his customers are professionals travelling to or from the airport or on long journeys. Their main complaint nearly always concerns the large amounts of valuable business time being wasted while sitting in the cab. The reliability of a mobile phone can't always be counted on and work hours are being lost, they complain. Initially, MacNamara says, he was unsure of the viability of his idea. But after conducting some market research among his customers, he found that nearly all his passengers favoured the idea and agreed it would be a service they would find useful. So MacNamara went about converting his Ford Galaxy cab to provide a state-of-the-art virtual office. The idea has progressed so rapidly in the last month that all technologies have now been put in place and he is just about ready to launch the project. MacNamara had previously worked in sales and it proved a helpful background when it came to getting the idea off the ground. He approached a number of companies with regard to the technologies he would need, and a few, who recognised the potential and merit behind the project, returned with an answer or offers of assistance. MacNamara also bounced the idea off three friends with backgrounds in the engineering, IT and multimedia sectors. All agreed to support the initiative which gave him the incentive to progress. As he admitted himself, before he started he knew nothing about the Internet or the technologies involved. The only negative aspect to his plans, by his own admission, was his own lack of training. But luck saw him being swept along by the enthusiasm of individuals from what he terms progressive companies. MacNamara can't emphasise enough the help offered by the sponsoring companies who have embraced the project with open minds. For example, Sarah Dempsey, senior marketing executive with ESAT Digifone, arranged for a high-quality telecom connection by sponsoring a new Nokia 6081 with transerver. Providing the phone system was the starting point of the operation. Dempsey says: " We are always pleased to support people who show drive and initiative in bringing new and useful products to the market. Therefore, our association with this new project is an exciting step for us". The next step was to acquire a laptop that would allow e-mail access with a fax facility. Gateway 2000 provided MacNamara with a new Solo 9100 multimedia notebook. The new notebook is priced at over IR£4000, and has a number of design features that bridge the gap between desktop and notebook PC's. The features of the notebook clearly show the technology investment that is being put into the project. These include: Windows 97 software, Internet capabilities, and Intel 116MHx mobile Pentium processor with MMX technology. Gateway 2000's portable product manager Catherine Boyhan comments:" As commuting times are increasing, the ability to work and stay in touch while on the move is becoming more and more necessary. With the 'Cabs On-Line' initiative, it means that getting from A to B can be spent productively, following up on e-mail or writing up reports. The Solo 9100 notebook, a premium product from Gateway's portable PC, was the obvious choice for the project. Gateway firmly believes that mobile computing is the only viable option for many business people and we support this initiative wholeheartedly". In his research, MacNamara found that while a number of professionals used laptops on a regular basis, only 10% have PCMCIA cards allowing e-mail access and download capabilities. Meanwhile, Microsoft provided all the software applications that MacNamara felt that he needed, while Ireland On-Line agreed to supply the Internet access. This proved to be a bit of a challenge, because not only did MacNamara need access, he also needed the technical set-up and on-going support which Ireland On-Line happily agreed to provide. The support was, at this stage, the most important element of the project. According to Louise McKeown of Ireland On-Line, "New ideas are what the Internet industry is all about and 'Cabs On-Line' is taking a dream and making it a reality. Sure wasn't that how Ireland On-Line started?" The Ford Galaxy which MacNamara uses as his cab is very spacious and can accommodate six people comfortably and is specially fitted with all the technology required. The fitting and ironing out of technical problems took considerable time and energy. The cabs would obviously have to be reliable and premium support would be required in case of technical difficulties. After the technology issues were taken care of, there were other elements that needed to be addressed. Roisin O'Hea of GCAS Profile agreed to handle the initial publicity after MacNamara bounced the idea off her. The interactive Avenue was approached to bring MacNamara up to speed with using the WWW and e-mail, not only so that he could support the in-cab facilities, but also so he could manage his Web site and bookings. On learning how to use the search engines, MacNamara found he could conduct international research to see if any other companies were offering the same service. Only one US company came close and that was a taxi that had a digital camera and chat-room access. But its focus was entertainment rather than business. The US company also charged a premium for its service. Its web-site is lettered with photographs of celebrities who have taken a ride. It can be viewed at www.ultimatetaxi.com. The service, which will initially work on a research basis for the first three months, will be charged at slightly more that the existing rate, except there will be no extra charge for baggage or people. The use of e-mail and the phone will be charged as extra, on the basis of air-time used. All bookings are on a pre-reservation basis and charged to credit card, either Master Card, Visa or Eurocard. The issue of confidentiality was also addressed. Any downloading of e-mails and files to the laptop will need to be erased by the passenger. MacNamara is offering total confidentiality and privacy. MacNamara believes financing will not be a problem when he has a track record behind him. He stresses that the first three months will make or break the idea. The only negative aspect, he says, will be that he won't be able to handle the demand. To protect the project, 'Cabs On-Line' has been registered as a trademark and as a limited company. He has also registered his Internet domain name. Ambitious plans are in the offing should the initial three months prove a success. These plans include a fleet of Ford Galaxies to cover the Dublin area and the franchising rights to other areas. Dublin taxi service will never be the same again.

'Taxi a High-Tech Office on Wheels' by Madeleine Lyons. Appeared in The Irish Times, April 8th, 1998.

Finally someone has managed to find an upside to Dublin's chaotic traffic situation. When taxi-driver Mr. Jarlath MacNamara heard yet another business customer complain about valuable office time lost stuck in traffic (and we thought taxi drivers had the monopoly on moaning), he decided to do something about it. Six months ago, he set about transforming a Ford Galaxy into a mobile office, equipped with telephone, fax, e-mail, Internet and word-processing facilities. Mr. MacNamara now plans to offer roving office services to his customers as they inch through the city streets at a snail's pace. With room enough for six passengers, he envisages the mobile service will provide the ideal pre- or post-meeting venue, where colleagues can huddle conspiratorially and execute last-minute functions. 'Cabs On-Line' is the first service of its kind in Europe and Mr. MacNamara has enlisted the help and expertise of a number of leading technology companies in equipping the cab. ESAT Digifone supplied the sophisticated PCM-CIA telecom connection by sponsoring a Nokia 6081 with transerver operating off the car battery. The Gateway 2000 multimedia notebook PC connects straight to the transerver, and the signal is further boosted by a five-decibel antenna attached to the roof. Microsoft has provided the software applications including Windows 95 and Office 97, and Ireland Online is providing Internet access. Mr. MacNamara says he has encountered difficulties in getting the technology to operate flawlessly and it is only now the e-mail is fully operational. He envisages further teething problems and is taking a longer-term view for the moment. "If I can develop this properly over the next three months, and that will probably mean installing a satellite antenna for instant Internet access, I would like to establish a fleet of about 10 cabs," says Mr. MacNamara. The cab currently looks like any other six-seater cab, apart from the discreetly stowed mobile phone and the notebook PC. Mr. MacNamara will discourage people travelling short distances from using the service, as they will incur a minimum fee of £15, combining distance travelled with services used. "Today's cab service is the same as it was in the nineteenth century, when horses were used - except today we just have more horses. It is time we moved with the times and provided that bit extra, even if it's just a complimentary newspaper in the car for customers," says Mr. MacNamara.

'Hailing a cab on the Information Superhighway' by Dan Collins

Appeared in The Examiner, April 9th, 1998.

Babies have been born in them and people have probably even died in them, but for the first time taxi cab commuters are being provided with the opportunity to conduct business from the passenger seat. Gridlock will no longer lead to potentially costly time for business people in cabs - not if enterprising cab driver Jarlath MacNamara realises his dream. 'Cabs On-Line' is the first innovative information superhighway people carrier, which provides all the technological gizmos needed for today's modern business person undertaking a long journey or simply stuck in traffic. MacNamara, an experienced taxi driver, has converted a Ford Galaxy to provide all the facilities of a modern office. The cab, despite all the techno-hardware, can comfortably accommodate six people in business-class luxury and complete confidentiality is assured to the passenger. Having worked for a Dublin-based taxi company servicing businesses, MacNamara found that his customers' commonest complaint was the time wasted in traffic or on a long journey. "A mobile office seemed the natural solution," he stated. He approached a number of organisations with a view to getting the venture up and running along the road and the response was 'overwhelming'. In three months he intends to have a fleet of on-line cabs in the greater Dublin area.

'Office on Wheels for Dublin's Traffic' by Jemma Doran,

Appeared in 'Sunday Business Post', April 12th, 1998.

Dublin cab driver Jarlath MacNamara has provided the first ever office on wheels with the launch of his 'Cabs On-Line'. His cab, which claims to be the first in Ireland, and indeed in Europe, was developed with the help of a series of commercial sponsors and has all the comforts of an office in the back of a taxi. MacNamara has converted a Ford Galaxy, which retails at £27,500, by fitting it with a mobile phone and laptop capable of sending e-mail and faxes. ESAT Digifone supplied the modem connected to a Nokia 6081 telephone at a cost to the mobile phone company of £1,059. It also gave MacNamara £200 worth of free calls. Gateway 2000 provided the Multi-media Notebook PC, connected straight into a built-in transerver and boosted by a five-decibel antenna on the roof. The cost of this was about £2,400. Microsoft supplied the Windows 95 and Office 97 packages, which retail at £400. Ireland On-Line is providing Internet access plus back-up support, valued at £181.50 for a yearly subscription. IOL is also providing support from a senior corporate support engineer at £100 an hour. To date, MacNamara and his clients have used 18 hours of technical support. 'Cabs On-Line' also has the continued support of Ford Ireland. MacNamara believes that this service will prove worthwhile and has plans to have a fleet of up to six cars on the road within the next three months. He has already approached the sponsors that subsidised him in his first venture and, he claims, they have indicated that they will support him in future ventures if this one proves successful. The sponsors see the cab as a way of promoting the latest technology they have on offer. On top of the standard taxi fare, MacNamara charges customers a booking fee of £15 and a fee of £10 for the usage of the laptop. He believes that this service is most beneficial to business people on trips to the airport and on journeys that involve some distance. 'Cabs On-Line' can be found at cabline@iol.ie and its website can be visited at www.cabs-on-line.ie.

'Techno Cab: a Fax on Wheels' by Bernie O'Toole and Samantha McCaughren.

Appeared in the Irish Evening Herald, April 12th, 1998.

Busy business people can now bypass Dublin's traffic gridlock by using a new information superhighway carrier on four wheels. Thanks to a technologically advanced cab packed with office gizmos, executives who conduct business en route to meetings can get the jump on the competition. The mobile office is the brainchild of Dublin hackney driver Jarlath MacNamara, who has transformed a Ford Galaxy into Europe's first futuristic mobile office. Jarlath got the idea when he saw business people under stress in traffic jams. Services in the technology centre on wheels include a telephone, fax, and a PC with e-mail, Internet facilities and Office 97. 'Cabs On-Line' has room for six people making it ideal for brief meetings.

'An Online Cab on the Super Highway' by Eve-Ann Prentice.

Appeared in the London Times, April 22nd, 1998.

This taxi has fax, e-mail, laptop - and a guarantee of no moaning.

Dublin taxi driver Jarlath MacNamara has moved into the fast lane of the Information Superhighway - by transforming his cab into a state-of -the-art mobile office. As a result, business men and women flying in and out of the Irish capital can use any time stuck in traffic jams to carry on working from the specially-equipped, six-seater Ford Galaxy. They can even access their e-mail. The vehicle- complete with fax, telephone with upgraded antennae, e-mail and Internet access and laptop PC - is proving such a success that MacNamara plans to have a fleet of ten operating within a few months. Then he hopes to conquer the centre of the black cab universe- by franchising the idea in London. MacNamara, 38, who claims to run the first taxi service with its own web-site, says "I am trying to drag cab services from the 19th into the 21st Century. The only difference in my business between Charles Dickens' time and now is the extra horsepower and the lack of manure - except for the verbal kind". The enterprising Irishman dreamed of running the office on wheels after returning to Dublin from Toronto, where he worked for some years as lease manager for the Chrysler car company. "I started the taxi firm and realised that the people I was picking up from the airport were frustrated because they couldn't access their e-mail or often make a phone call because the signal was no good on their mobile phones", he says. "Business people can't afford to be out of touch for even one second of the day". MacNamara thought hard about their predicament and realised he could offer them a solution. He then approached several hi-tech companies with his idea - and "the result was overwhelming," he says. ESAT Digifone supplied the telecom connection by sponsoring the new Nokia 6081 with transerver. Gateway 2000 provided the Solo 9100 multimedia notebook computer, Microsoft provided software and Ireland On-Line agreed to supply Internet access and the technical support. Ford Ireland is also supporting the venture. For MacNamara, it was a steep learning curve, as he acknowledges. "I was computer-illiterate when I started this but the Irish software market is second only to the US and everything I needed was here", he says. "I learned a lot by my mistakes and Ireland On-Line put me through a course, so now I would say I am semi computer literate". The cost of using the Galaxy works out a about 50 percent more that conventional taxis, but there is no surcharge for carrying extra passengers - so, MacNamara says, six people travelling together can cost less than the same party using two cabs. "The trip from the Shelbourne Hotel in central Dublin to the airport is normally about IR£20, and you would be talking about IR£30 with me," he says. Now he is planning to install a printer to join all the other hi-tech onboard equipment in the Galaxy. "All this has been a learning process for me. People are not using the fax as much as I thought they would, but I get people who say 'Jesus, I have a talk to give and I need ten copies to distribute', so I will definitely have to get a printer," he says. MacNamara already provides his customers with floppy discs if they need them, onto which they can down-load information from the Internet via the notebook computer. He feels that his project is going a long way to restoring the image of cab-drivers and changing the common perception of them as moaners and, occasionally, bigots. "Taxi drivers have a very bad press, but 80% are very understanding of their customers," he says. Taxi drivers have to realise that they are at the 'front-line of receiving visitors to a country. The tourist board can spend millions of pounds luring Joe Bloggs and his wife and children to visit from America, and then it can all be ruined if the first person they meet is the driver from the airport who spends all his time moaning about 'the wife'. MacNamara's wife Bernadette is the last person that he is going to complain about. He says," at first she thought I had gone bonkers. That's because setting this up took a lot of work. But she is a nurse, and has to use computers at work, so she understands and has been very supportive". MacNamara's service can be found on the web at www.cabs-on-line.ie or by e-mail at cabline@iol.ie.