GroundWidgets Joins The coNext Project

Late last month, it was announced that ground transportation operators utilizing Livery Coach, FASTTRAK Cloud, The Hudson Group, and SedanMagic, have real-time access to vehicle location data, intra-network communications, and on-demand booking capabilities delivered via a new system-agnostic neutral communications platform through the formation of The coNext Project.

GroundWidgets is the latest member to join the alliance of software providers working with The coNext Project, which increases the numbers served by an additional 500 operators, 10,000+ cars, and 12.5 million rides.

“The coNext Project now brings together over 1,530 operators, 41,525+ cars, and 80.5 million rides each year for the ground transportation providers represented by the CoNext system providers,” says Amir Zafar, founder and CEO of GRiDD, the technology company who developed the neutral platform.

For years, the largest stumbling block to working with affiliates was the use of different software systems. This new connectivity will eliminate the need for ground transportation operators to call in reservations to their affiliates. With a push of a button, they will now be able to send jobs electronically to any operator—regardless of their dispatch system—and they can get real-time ride statuses, book changes, and send rides to an affiliate regardless of the software they are using, thus drastically reducing the overhead of their dispatch and reservation operations.

This is the first time operators from different software providers can communicate directly through utilizing a vendor-neutral network technology in real-time.

“We are pleased to be able to add the GroundWidgets operators, using the LMS, SantaCruz, and ULS back office software to this open network,” says Zafar.

Apurva Patel, CEO of GroundWidgets, is excited to be part of this project. “It has always been in the best interest of our industry to have a single, neutral communications network,” he says. “Chauffeured service passengers are part of a global community, and we have to make sure that our clients are seamlessly connected to this global network. Participation in The coNext Project means that we are adding a new level of real-time connectivity where operators partner with each other and are positioned to extend the duty of care their corporate customers expect.”

In addition to the connectivity, operators will now be able to elect to go on demand when they have excess capacity. The on-demand feature will be at the discretion of the company not the driver.

Visit www.theconextproject.com or send an email to info@theconextproject.com for more information.

[CD1114]