A Couple of Recent Speaking Opportunities

May 14, 2010 by Leave a comment

Over the last few weeks, Carbon Voyage has been fortunate to be able to speak about what we are doing – firstly at GreenNet 2010 in San Francisco run by GigaOm’s Earth2Tech and more recently at Low Carbon South West’s Low Carbon Startup Fest in Bath which was chaired by James Watson of the Economist Intelligence Unit. In both cases it was great to see some of the innovation from the other startups presenting Soneter and get a good insight into what is happening on both sides of the Atlantic. I think there is still a lot that the UK investment community can learn from what is happening in the US – things like Y-Combinator would be a welcome addition over here and schemes such as the EFG are proving to not deliver what they are intended for (Richard Tyler quoted me as saying something similar about the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme in the Daily Telegraph back in January 2009). It has been useful in both cases to get a bit of feedback from venture capitalists and private investors about what they are after which will hopefully be of use when we do start actively seeking investment.

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Carbon Voyage at GreenNet 2010

March 25, 2010 by Leave a comment

Carbon Voyage is delighted to announce that we will be appearing at Earth2Tech’s GreenNet 2010 on 29 April 2010 in San Francisco. There are ten companies presenting and the sketch is that the companies “need to have developed innovative technology that uses information technology — the web, mobile devices, wireless networks, software and computing — to fight climate change in some way.” This is an exciting opportunity to present the business in front of many important thought leaders, businesses and venture capital firms. You can read all about it here.

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Interview with Founder

January 31, 2010 by Leave a comment

A few months ago, James Swanston was interviewed by Hugh Mason of Pembridge to discuss his journey through the G2I program run in London.  Anyway, here is the interview!

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New Carbon Voyage Business Portal

November 18, 2009 by Leave a comment

Carbon Voyage has just released a new SME portal allowing our customers to have business accounts. This provides a simple to use web platform to manage ground transport needs (taxis and airport train services). The key benefits of using our service are:

Single portal to compare and choose different transport options and their different costs.

Ability to save money through sharing taxis and filling empty return journeys.

Financial and environmental reporting, and offsetting of carbon emissions (through Planet Positive).

Bookings can be made online or via our dedicated business 24/7 call centre. 

The service is presently available in London. If you are interested in trying the service, you can register online or email info @ carbonvoyage.com.  The full features are:

Bookings

  • Ability to book for people in your organisation. 
  • Passenger notification via sms optional.
  • Send courier packages via taxis.

Consolidated Management Information

  • Ability to see total business spend, team spend and/or individual spend (financial and carbon).
  • Bookings linked to cost codes.
  • All bookings recorded so there is a single consolidated receipt/ spreadsheet of entire transport spend.
  • Exportable spreadsheet/ .csv file to accounting software.

Sharing Portal

  • Ability to find your own shares within your network/ business.

Business Rules and Preferences

  • Pre-population of common business destinations (eg. Head office, branch offices).
  • Preferred fleets.
  • Permissions about using particular vehicle types.
  • Set approval limits for individual staff spend. When a staff member gets close to their limit, we will advise the manager who can then prevent future use/ increase budgeted spend etc.

Customer Support

  • Email Support.
  • Call Centre.

 

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Carbon Voyage becomes Planet Positive

July 11, 2009 by Leave a comment

A few months ago, we met with the guys at dCarbon8 and PlanetPositive and really liked what they were up to, so much so that we decided to work with them to not only to offset our own carbon emissions, but also to assist in reducing the carbon emitted by our customers when using our service.

Like them, we don’t look at carbon offsetting as an easy fix or something that can be used as the sole means of reducing our impact on the environment. Rather, carbon offsetting should be the final part of a broader strategy which must start with making a positive reduction in the carbon you create. They way we try and do this for our customers is to firstly provide them with green travel options and help them understand the impact that their travel will make on the environment, and then secondly provide them with opportunities to share vehicles and fill empty return journeys.

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HEATHROW AND GATWICK EXPRESS LAUNCH ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY DOOR-TO-DOOR AIRPORT SERVICE WITH CARBON VOYAGE

June 25, 2009 by 1 Comment

Heathrow and Gatwick Express have launched the first ever environmentally friendly door-to-door service to and from the airport with Carbon Voyage. Travellers can book a pick up from either their home or office in a Carbon Voyage car and travel to Paddington or Victoria Stations where they will board the express train service to Heathrow or Gatwick Airports.

This new integrated service, which is booked on-line, means customers will only need to make one booking, to arrange a Carbon Voyage vehicle and train ticket. Train tickets will be sent electronically to the customers, saving postage and paper.

James Swanston of Carbon Voyage said, “From an environmental perspective, this new service will assist in taking cars off the road, reducing congestion and more importantly the pollution caused from the five million people per year that use taxis and minicabs to travel to and from Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. The average taxi trip from Paddington to Heathrow is approximately 6.2 kg of CO2 emissions as opposed to 1.4 kg using a train (Source: www.transportdirect.info ).”

George Fripp, Account Manager for Heathrow and Gatwick Express adds: “We wanted to optimise our offering and provide a best-in-class service and assistance to our travellers. This product is applicable not just to our UK customers as it can be booked on-line it is just as relevant for international travellers coming into the UK.”

Jonny Goldstone of Green Tomato Cars, London’s largest exclusively green taxi company said. “By working with Green Tomato Cars, the service combining Carbon Voyage and Heathrow and Gatwick Express demonstrates that travellers can easily “go green” without settling for a lower quality of service or paying a premium – customers will experience smoother journeys, excellent customer service, reduce their environmental impact and pay less for the journey all at the same time.”

Prices start from £32 and can be booked online at www.carbonvoyage.com

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Carbon Voyage launches booking service to lower cost and carbon of car rides

March 6, 2009 by Leave a comment


  • Passengers share rides and find cars on return journeys
  • Companies and customers cash in and cut carbon

LONDON, UK, February 25, 2009 – Carbon Voyage today launches a car-booking service that helps people to cut the cost and carbon footprint of using private car hire.

Customers are already using the service, which is in beta trials, to share cars with other people and take advantage of the wasted return journeys minicabs make.

“Tough economic times are opening doors for cost-saving businesses,” says James Swanston, CEO of Carbon Voyage. “The beauty of our service is that it makes car travel cheaper and cuts the environmental impact of private-hire cars.

“It’s important for us to deliver value but also do our bit to tackle climate change. That’s what green business is all about.”

There are some 66,000 taxis and private-hire vehicles in London, according to the National Office of Statistics. It is estimated that private hire vehicles are empty up to 45 per cent of the time, according to Government figures. This is called ‘dead mileage’ is regarded by car operators and environmentalist as an extremely wasteful use of a journey.

The BBC annually spends £19 million on taxi and private car rides, while the demand to cut carbon footprints and costs continues to rise.

The Carbon Voyage experience promises to give a safe, low-cost and carbon service to customers in the London area.

Anyone wishing to trial the beta service should contact: info@carbonvoyage.com

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