Guest Blog by tACKzee

“A New Way to Get Around Nantucket!”

During busy summer months it can be a challenge to find transportation on the island, especially taxis. It’s quite possible a fun night out for dinner and drinks can end up being frustrating when it comes time to get back home.

Doug Kruse, the founder of tACKzee, a seasonal island resident, experienced a night like this in the summer of 2016 with friends who were visiting the island. After a great meal at Chanticleer out in ’Sconset, the group tried to find a taxi to get back home to their kids. After pulling business cards out of his wallet and dialing 3 to 4 taxi drivers, who all said they were nowhere close to ’Sconset, he thought, “…there has to be a better way than sifting through a pile of business cards to find a taxi!”

At the time Kruse started thinking about an app for Nantucket taxis, Uber and Lyft had already made progress introducing their ride share services on Nantucket. The ease and simplicity of using a phone to tap-and-ride in seconds was an immediate success. Rideshare companies have grown substantially over the last few years. As Kruse recalls thinking at the time, “It was troubling to watch these large corporations come to Nantucket and really hurt these local businesses, owned by year-round residents, who have been running these businesses for years.” He personally knows drivers who, at the time, said they were losing their livelihood because they couldn’t compete with the technology.

Kruse set-off to create a level playing field!

One of tACKzee’s long-term objectives would be to transition the existing taxi system onto the new and modern platform. Doing so will help the taxi community take back market share and sustain their local business. This endeavor will provide convenience and affordability to individuals on Nantucket, while encouraging the support of local island businesses.

According to Liam Bruno, COO at tACKzee, “We believe that a large part of the reason rideshare companies have been able to take away so much business from the Nantucket taxi companies is because of the convenience offered by mobile technology. We set out to bring this same level of convenience to the Nantucket taxi companies by creating a mobile app exclusively for the Nantucket taxi community.”

Drawbacks of existing Rideshare offerings on Nantucket:

1. During busy season, they dramatically increase their rates to match demand, also known as “surge” charge. In fact, on several occasions, people have paid upwards of $100.00 for a single six-mile ride on Nantucket!
2. Rideshare drivers flock to the island to take advantage of “surge” demand.
3. Rideshare companies do not have the same level of compliance and oversight. On-island licensed drivers are fingerprinted, require more expensive insurance coverage and are required to be fully-licensed to operate, with oversight and compliancy being dictated by local law enforcement.

Benefits of tACKzee:

1. Low rates: TACKZee uses the taxi rates created by the town of Nantucket. Drivers and owners get the same payout using the technology as they do now and they will not pay to use the app. There is no “surge” charge. Riders simply incur a small app fee to cover operational expenses of the platform.
2. Similar ease-of-use: TACKzee offers similar tap-to-ride features as the other apps but connects exclusively to on-island, licensed drivers.
3. For Locals! TACKzee is built for local business. They believe in promoting local business owners who are a part of the Nantucket community, live and pay taxes on the island.

Look for the app to be available for use mid-Summer 2018!

For more information please visit tackzee.com or contact info@tackzee.com