GPS Tracking

Taxi cabs are a major part of the transportation systems in major cities. Anyone who would question this should be stuck in a bustling downtown metro during a taxi strike. A city the size of Chicago can be home to more than 6,000 cabs operating on a regular basis.

Today, a fleet that size probably owes its flow and easy operation to GPS tracking systems. Most major taxi cab companies are now furnished with vehicle tracking systems. That is because without them, too much is left to chance. Drivers and consumers are wandering about rather aimlessly hoping to hook up at the right place and the right time.

GPS tracking is a preferred method of fleet management. Companies dispatching taxi cabs know that a tracking system will tell them where their fleet is exactly, so they have better control of their resources, and as an extension of that, better control of their operating costs and profit margin.

Satellites Key to GPS Tracking

A GPS tracking receiver, placed in a vehicle, calculates its precise location at regular intervals (seconds or minutes), using radio signals from satellites. It records that data in internal memory for later download (passive vehicle tracking); or immediately transfers the raw data to a central server through a mobile phone network (real-time vehicle tracking). Real-time or “live” GPS tracking systems carry a monthly fee for data transfer.

Dispatch uses a central computer to monitor where each vehicle is at any particular time. There is really no limit to how many GPS tracking vehicles can be viewed on a computer map simultaneously.

Benefits to the GPS Tracking of Cabs

Taxis are to a street system are what blood cells are to the arteries: you can’t live without them. Taxis are vital people movers. But that doesn’t mean the delivery system doesn’t get clogged up or bogged down once in awhile.

Taxi cab services with GPS tracking systems report the following advantages:

• Stem the release of harmful carbon emissions: Cabs are one of the biggest offenders of air pollution. Each taxi logs hundreds of miles a day, plus the cabbies are notorious for sitting and idling for long periods of time while waiting for their next fares. GPS tracking is environmentally-conscious because it can be used to reduce fuel use.
• Historical trip index: Vehicle tracking systems commonly archive hundreds of hours of travel history. This data can be used to target driving patterns and reduce wasteful habits like speeding, redundant trips and taking an out-of-the-way route to get from Point A to Point B. The GPS tracking record can also be used to investigate police incidents (tickets or traffic accidents) and monitor when specific vehicles are scheduled for mechanical service or routine maintenance.
• Avoiding traffic jams: Every cab passenger’s biggest nightmare is getting stuck in traffic with the meter running. For anyone who has paid $10 to be driven the equivalent of three city blocks, hear the good news: some real-time GPS tracking systems have access to live traffic updates. In most others, including passive GPS tracking systems, the user can figure out how traffic is flowing by comparing vehicle speed to posted speed limit.
• Take the guesswork out of hailing a cab: Some manufacturers are developing an optional application on an Internet-enabled smartphone that will help the user hail a cab. The user subscribes for the service and gets a unique password or PIN number. When the subscriber needs a ride, he activates a “hot button” of sorts, which feeds his GPS tracking location into a database. Taxis and their current locations could be fed into the same data base. Matching the nearest taxi to the fare would be hassle free.
• Theft recovery: If a cab is stolen, its whereabouts will be known if it is equipped with a vehicle tracking system. Live GPS tracking systems have a geo-fencing alert.
• Track lost parcels: If a customer leaves luggage, a laptop or umbrella in a taxi, a location and time are all that is needed to narrow the search to a few vehicles. GPS tracking systems record a detailed travel history.

That is not to say that all taxi drivers are welcoming GPS tracking technology. Many city efforts to regulate or mandate GPS tracking of cabs are finding resistance from drivers and their unions. Usually, the drivers fear the management or the city will use GPS tracking to follow their every move, spy on them, or maybe even tax them for mileage.

Management responds that GPS tracking systems are only used to: record on-duty trips; to keep an electronic record of mileage and location, eliminating the need for manual trip sheets; and to better dispatch the closest available vehicle to trip requests. When GPS tracking is used to monitor off-duty movements, most would agree that it is an invasion of privacy.

LandAirSea Products Appropriate for Fleet Tracking

LandAirSea Systems, a leading manufacturer of vehicle tracking devices, software and accessories since 1994, offers several products useful for taxi management. The Victoria GPS Tracking System determines a vehicle’s location every 10 seconds in real time. The GPS Tracking Key and GPS Tracking Key Pro® are passive vehicle tracking devices and they cord location second by second.

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Tags: Cabs, Fleet Management, GPS Tracking, Satellites, Taxi

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 1:42 pm and is filed under All Articles, GPS Fleet Tracking, GPS Tracking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.