Entry for Young Glory

1. Yellow Cross
Joseph Thomas

2. The Problem
It’s not just taxis, most public services are in a stage of slow
decay. The private sector has the benefit of more money
and less bureaucracy which makes them better suited
to provide these services.
How can we restore the public’s faith in taxi services once
again, without just mimicing the services of Uber and Lyft?

3. The Solution
We need to rebrand.
We need to convince people that taxis are around for social good and
not private profit. They exist to make their city better.

4. Insight
Taxi drivers know their city better than anyone else.

5. The Idea
Yellow Cross is a voluntary cab-driver collective. It’s an initiative managed and
run by drivers. Their taxis are branded with the universal symbol of good.

6. How It Works
The taxi union rebrands a fleet of its cabs. A driver can volunteer to
drive this cab for a day, but the fare and tips collected will go towards
social causes that help better the city.

7. How It Works
These are the small much-needed fixes that often fall through the cracks of
city services. A small pothole, a wall that needs a fresh coat of paint or just
cleaning the streets - all funded by the fare collected from Yellow Cross cabs.

8. How It Works
Yellow Cross will also tie up with organisations like Red Cross
and provide free services. Need a ride to the hospital?
Riding to a blood donation drive? Your fare is on us.

9. How It Works
We’ll go beyond just providing services to those who need a ride.
We'll set up digital billboards across the city and have Yellow Cross
drivers tweet when they're stuck in traffic. This will help other drivers
plan ahead and reduce traffic snarls.

10. How It Works
To get the story across, unions can tie up with Humans of New York
and the several other 'Humans of' pages across the world. We'll get
these photographers to follow our drivers and tell their story.
I’m following Yellow Cross this month. Watch out for stories about this great initiative.

11. Conclusion
With Yellow Cross we’ll be able to make taking a taxi to work an act
of altruism. Morever, we’ll be able to convince our passengers
that taxis are here for good.
When you hitch a ride with Yellow Cross, you don’t just get to your
destination, you also make your city better.