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Using GPS to Hail Cabs
The Benefactor writes "The guys at The
Register are running a story about using
mobile phones to hail cabs in London. Using GPS technology to locate the nearest available cab and to direct it to where you call from this should make frantic arm waving to get their attention a thing of the past."
They're using GSM-based location-services that many cellphone-providers across europe are starting to provide. GSM is the european standard for digital cellphones, and you can't get an exact position, only tell which base station the caller is connected to. Therefore you can find people in the same area by matching which base-station sees which users.
Harald
It's very clever, and the first commercial use of Mobile Phone location technology (in the UK, at least). However, the problem is cab drivers just don't want to know.
The original plan was to get 4000 drivers on board by the end of March. Apparently they are still around the 500 mark which means the revenue stream is not as healthy as they would like!
Black Cabs (Taxis) are allowed to pick up passengers anywhere, i.e be flagged down. They have to pay a fair bit for the licence which allows them to do this. Mini Cabs (Private Hire) have to be booked and must pick you up from a pre-arranged location. AFAIK, there is no reason that you cannot book a Black Cab, though perhaps the hotel staff gets a better backhander from the mini cabs.
Reginald Molehusband. Edinburgh, Scotland
This is a result of a set of truely great rules about London Cabs that have evolved over centuries called the Hackney Carriage Rules.
To be a Licensed London Black Cab the vehicle needs to be able to do some extreme things that a normal car can't do - such as do a U-turn in about a 20-foot circle. That is why all the 'Black' Cabs in London are not based on normal cars. Black Cab drivers also need to pass 'The Knowledge'
Minicabs are a relatively recent invention (70's I think) which are NOT allowed to be hailed on the street, have much simpler vehicle rules and the drivers don't have to do 'the knowledge'. Minicabs (legal) can often be pretty grotty. Often you get unlicensed (illegal) minicabs hanging outside pubs and clubs - these can be even more dodgy.
'The knowledge' is the about 2 years full-time work needed to know all the required addresses and routes in London. You cannot drive a London Black Cab without doing this. Becoming a Black Cab driver in London is therefore a pretty serious long term commitment.
This system puts you in touch with the nearest driver and then you talk to him to tell him EXACTLY where you are and where you want to go. At this point he could turn your job down (although the rules in London say they HAVE to take a job if they are hailed).
In London, only the licensed black cabs are permitted to to pick up passengers who hail them on the street. But there are also armies of more-or-less-dodgy minicab operators who work on the basis that the car is pre-ordered, by the customer calling the minicab company's office, who dispatch a car to you by radio.
This new system sounds like it would be ideal for the minicab operators, because a punter calling in and using this service is in effect ordering the car as opposed to hailing it on the street, yet the turnaround time should be a lot quicker.
The black cab drivers are going to hate this...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2946129.stm
....cab drivers hail you!
And I'm not kidding either. The streets of Manhattan are so thick with yellow cabs that it rarely takes more than a wink or a nod for them to pull over.
It's gotten to the point where cabbies will see me walking out of my building a block away, honk their horn a few times to get my attention, and then I can respond with - literally - a tilt of the head or a slight shake and they're off.
So in NYC, this isn't going to do much good most of the time.
HOWEVER -- there are those insane times (i.e. shift changes, rain, randomly) when there are no cabbies anywhere. Perhaps then?
Ferrari and other exotic car rentals in New York
Is this really a problem? I've never been to London, but any city I have been to, the cabs were almost frantic to pull over and let you in. In New York, I've had cabbies pull over and ask if I wanted a ride when I was just standing there.
You need to know about "cabs" in London. First there are two kinds, proper cabs, or "black cabs" as they are often called (actually hackney carriages but I digress). Currently these require a specifically authorised vehicle with disabled access, insurance, regular maintenance, etc, etc and above all else a licensed driver who has passed "The Knowledge" by which they should be able to know any street within a 6 mile radius of Charing Cross. Yes, and that is pretty much actually true, get in the back, give an address and they will be able to get you there without referring to a map (it's pretty incredible), for this you pay a premium price.
Then there is mini-cab scum, which can basically be a bloke and a car, and that's about it, you negotiate price with varying rates of success based on time of day, distance, number of passengers, liklehood of one of the passengers despoiling the vehicle and blood alcohol level of both driver and passenger. There is virtually no regulation of this service. Very scaryIn between these two are more reputable mini-cab firms, not the knowledge of the black cabs but not quite so dodgy as the bloke on the street, but here to there is a lack of regulation and a sliding scale of reliability and competence from just above dodgy to as good as a black cab but without passing the knowledge (for a variety of reasons, some not so good).
I have cabbed it all over the world from the grease covered toyota's of Jakarta, to hailing some guy with his groceries and wife and kids in a Lada in Moscow, to cabs of varying kinds in London. Black Cabs for all their faults offer the best service in the world (and much comedy value if one gets the right cabbie who would like to share with you his view on the current state of the world).
"The first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging."
The real point is that they are charging the punter $2.56 american (1.60 Pounds, I just looked it up) for just hailing the cab!
Then you can look forward to at least another pound for engaging the taxi, and then you can finally start paying by the mile.
I'll wave my arms, it's free.
Mobile Phone operator Singtel in Singapore has implemented a range of location based services since last year.
:
One of the services is to get a cab. The landmarks are locations close to your current position (in most cases within a 100m)
"You will receive a SMS listing the landmarks near your location for your pickup location. Select your preferred pickup location and confirm your booking. You will receive a SMS indicating the taxi number and estimated arrival time once the booking is successful."
Another good feature is busses. You can type your destination, and it will direct you to the nearest busstop, and give you the busnumbers and transit locations. Unfortunately they have implemented this for only one of the three main busoperators. Still it is a good start.