Amadeus, chauffeured service network Blacklane and the
Association of Car Rental Industry Systems Standards have joined forces to
develop a standards classification system for chauffeured car service. The
Vehicle with Driver Service Industry standards, as the coalition calls them,
define standard class, business class and first class by services and types of
vehicle offered. Those definitions had been inconsistent across the industry,
according to Amadeus. Some suppliers define a Toyota Prius as standard class,
for example, while others define the vehicle as business class.
VDSI standards specify car types by global region and, to
determine class of service, factor in service specifications like lead time
required for bookings, cancellation policies and driver's dress code.
Amadeus' head of cars and transfers Peter Altmann called
chauffeured car services one of the biggest growth opportunities in travel.
"To reach their potential, the industry needs to speak the same language
and have confidence in the service offered."
Blacklane will be the first chauffeured
transportation supplier to adopt the standards. Sweden-based MyCab,
Netherlands-based TaxiTender and U.K.-based Karhoo also plan to adopt them,
according to Amadeus.