When it comes to privately chartered limo services, Uber has been hogging most of the media spotlight, mainly due to the controversy surrounding the company.
As such, you may have missed the entry of Blacklane into the market, but as we shall see, Blacklane is a serious competitor, providing a standard of service that Uber so far hasn’t been able to match.
One thing worth knowing, however, is that Blacklane isn’t trying to merely be a replacement for Uber. Blacklane has focused on providing a superior level of service in terms of luxury, efficiency, and safety. This is achieved through two measures:
- Very thorough vetting of both drivers and vehicles, to ensure that they meet the highest standards
- An outstanding mobile app and online booking system that gives you absolute control
It is the Blacklane mobile app that deserves some extra attention. It has many features in common with the Uber app, but the beauty is in the details. In particular, the way Blacklane deals with ride scheduling is radically different from Uber’s method, and it’s clearly better.
When you schedule a ride with Uber, it works on a similar basis to ordinary taxi dispatch. When the appointed time for the ride approaches, Uber finds a driver to pick you up. The flaw in this approach is that the driver could reject or ignore the request, or may take excessive time to reach you. You can never be 100% certain that your ride will be on time or even if it is going to show up at all.
Scheduling a ride with Blacklane couldn’t be more different. When you use this service, the booking process is more formal. It’s like making a professional appointment. Therefore you will know for certain that your ride is not only going to be on time, it’s going to be waiting for you. That’s an assurance that is worth every penny, as anyone who has been on a tight deadline to arrive for a flight or an important meeting will faithfully attest.
Blacklane also gives you the option of hiring a driver to get you from A to B, or to hire on an hourly basis so you can visit multiple destinations without the hassle of booking another ride or changing drivers. For the business traveler, this is a clear advantage, because it saves time and reduces complexity.
Another important factor with Blacklane is that all drivers are required to have full commercial insurance. This requirement also sets Blacklane apart, and means that in addition the knowing that you have a safe, reliable driver with a modern luxury vehicle, the driver has the best available insurance in the unlikely event that anything does go amiss during the journey.
With all this added value, Blacklane is a proven innovator in the private chartered limousine market. But they didn’t just stop there. Blacklane also has been continually adding more and more cities to their coverage, which means that in more than 230 cities around the world, you can be sure of the same consistent high standards, and that list is continuing to grow.
Blacklane doesn’t make headlines because it doesn’t cause problems. But for the smart business traveler, Blacklane is a service worth knowing about.
