[CNA] LTA embarks on trial to reduce waiting time for taxis
Technology such as heat
sensors and cameras will be deployed at seven taxi stands to aid in
better matching taxi supply with demand, according to the Land
Transport Authority.
SINGAPORE: The Land Transport
Authority on Wednesday (Nov 5) announced it will embark on a
year-long trial for its Taxi Information System (TIS) from today,
aimed at reducing waiting time for passengers.
Seven taxi stands were
identified for the trial: HarbourFront Centre, Hitachi Towers, Keck
Seng Tower, Lucky Plaza, Ngee Ann City, OG People’s Park and
VivoCity. They will be fitted out with heat sensors to detect
commuters waiting in the taxi queue in real time, and supported by
intelligent camera technology that displays footage for taxi
drivers and commuters to view the queue status, said
LTA.
The average passenger waiting
time at the taxi stands will be calculated based on the information
collected, and transmitted to the taxi companies' call centres.
These call centres can, in turn, broadcast the information to their
drivers to encourage unhired taxis to call at taxi stands with high
demand, it added.
"With the TIS, taxi drivers
can reduce empty cruising while commuters can also look forward to
shorter taxi waiting times," LTA stated.
In the initial stage of the
trial, the system is configured to alert the taxi companies' call
centres automatically when there are 15 or more people in the
queue, and when the average waiting time for a taxi is more than 15
minutes. The agency said the algorithm will be calibrated where
necessary during the trial.
Commuters can make use of the
www.mytransport.sg or MyTransport.SG mobile app to access real-time
footage of the taxi passenger queue, which would help them decide
if they want to join the queue. The app is only available for
Android users currently, and the iOS version will be "available
later", according to the press release.
The information on average
waiting time at the taxi stands will be available at the end of
this year, the LTA added.
中央商业区德士站 候车时间或缩短
德士乘客今后在乌节路和中央商业区特定德士站候车，等待时间有望缩短。
陆路交通管理局昨天起在市区内的7个德士站展开为期1年的试验计划，使用热能感应和智慧摄像科技，实时监督乘客的候车时间，以便及时通知德士公司调派车队应付需求，缩短乘客在德士站的等车时间。
这7个德士站位于幸运商业中心（Lucky
Plaza）、义安城、牛车水OG、日立大厦、激成大厦（Keck 个，是为了能将更多德士等候情况各异的德士站纳入计划，“以便更好地测试系统的效用”。
根据陆交局在9月进行的德士候车时间调查，义安城德士站从下午5时至晚上11时的平均乘客候车时间介于6到13分钟。
但在众多乌节德士站中，ION
Orchard商场的德士等候情况最为严重，下午5时至晚上11时的候车时间介于9至34分钟。
试验初期，德士站人数一旦超过15人，且平均候车时间又超过15分钟，系统将自动发送短信到各家德士公司的预召服务中心，呼吁德士司机前往这些德士站载客。Seng
Tower）、港湾中心（HarbourFront Centre）及怡丰城。
其中，义安城和激成大厦分别取代原先被纳入试验的百利宫（Paragon）及凯联大厦（International
Plaza），港湾中心和怡丰城则是新列入计划的两个德士站。
陆交局发言人受询说，当局决定把试行地点从原本5个扩大至7