Stuck in a taxi queue that is hardly moving?
Relief may come soon from a system of closed-circuit television
(CCTV) cameras at taxi stands feeding "live" images back to cab
despatch centres, which can direct cabbies to where fares are
waiting.
Home-grown information technology company Stratech Systems is
devising such a system in response to a call by the Media
Development Authority (MDA) for industries to design innovative
business solutions.
It is distributing $12 million for 15 such innovations, among
which is Stratech's "Dynamic Vehicle Allocation System". Stratech
executive chairman David Chew said the system, which he claimed
will be a world first, will be installed at 50 taxi stands, mostly
in the Central Business District, for a start. It should be ready
for trial in nine months. He said of the current problem: "Taxis
may be waiting at a vacant stand while commuters queue in vain
elsewhere."
More than just feeding images of taxi queues back to taxi
operators, he said, Stratech's system would be smart enough to
adjust to changes in numbers of waiting commuters and cabs
arriving.
"Today's taxi despatch systems are dumb," said the Stratech
chief, who has begun talking to the taxi operators.
Ms Tammy Tan, spokesman for ComfortDelGro Corp, Singapore's
largest cab company, said: "We believe a taxi queue monitoring
system will help our drivers pinpoint areas where there is higher
demand and have in fact been exploring such a system
ourselves."
She added ComfortDelGro was "encouraged" by the MDA's support of
such an initiative and would seek to work with it on its
development.
SMRT Taxis' senior manager of customer relations Eunice Lui said
initiatives that will enhance taxi services for customers are
welcome.
Industry observers, however, said they did not see anything
compelling about the system. Property firm executive H.Y. Loh, a
51-year old regular cab commuter, is sceptical. She said the system
would work in bad times, "when cabbies going to taxi stands are at
least assured of business". But she is less sure it will work when
good times return, because more people will be taking cabs then
Cab companies may also not back Stratech's system fully, since
doing so will hit their call-booking revenue. After all, commuters
in taxi queues often resort to phoning for a cab, said Ms Loh. But
Mr Chew said that if Stratech's system works, "it will ensure a
continuous flow of taxis".
(The above article was extracted from The Straits Times home
section - 23/10/2008)
