Background
Turkish taxi companies are privately operated businesses. Each taxi company employs approximately 100 people and is responsible for providing services in specific areas of a particular city. However, it is not that easy for potential passengers to call a taxi.
Taxi-hailing software apps such as Uber are not much used in Turkey due to legal restrictions and technology limitations. If someone wants to take a taxi, they have to make a phone call to the central taxi control station or go there by themselves and tell the staff that they want a taxi. The station controller informs the taxi driver by phone that a fare is waiting and the taxi driver returns to the station to pick the passengers up.
Challenges
The current system has a number of challenges. If a passenger wants to order a taxicab, the controller has to notify the taxi driver by calling their mobile phone. But if the taxi driver happens to be occupied, the controller has to keep calling other drivers one at a time until he önds a driver available to accept the job.
The other main problem is the fact that controllers do not have a clear idea about the location of each taxi in the city. This makes it difficult to find the closest available taxi driver for the job and can mean passengers are unnecessarily delayed waiting for their ride.
Solution
Hytera provided a Push-to-Talk over Cellular (PoC) solution to solve the communication issues facing the taxi companies. The staff in the central taxi station are equipped with Hytera PNC370 PoC radios and a dispatching system, while each taxi driver is also issued with a PNC370.
PoC provides all the advantages of private two-way radio systems, but operates over existing cellular and WLAN networks to deliver wide area coverage. PoC supports one-to-one and one-to-many group calling.
When a job comes in, the controller initiates a group call over the dispatch system, which can be heard by all the drivers, to see who is available. In-built GPS technology enables the controller to see the location of each taxi through the dispatching system and quickly assign the job to the nearest available driver.
The PoC solution has a number of advantages over mobile smartphones. For a start, the controller can group call all the taxi drivers by simply pressing the dedicated push-to-talk (PTT) button, which will initiate a call much faster than a mobile phone. Mobile phones are also restricted to one-to-one calling.
The audio quality of PoC radios is louder and clearer than mobile phones, as they feature a 2W professional speaker, which reduces audio distortion and background noise. The user interface of the PNC370 is simple and easy to use and drivers are not distracted by entertainment apps found on smartphones. The PNC370 also features a high capacity battery, which ensures drivers can continue to
communicate throughout the length of a long shift.
Unlike a smartphone, the PNC370 is both rugged and durable, as it has IP55 levels of protection against dust and moisture ingress and it meets MIL-STN 810 G standards for shock, drop and vibration resistance. The PoC3000 (Hytera HyTalk) platform provides a reliable service and supports uniöed management, so radios can be remotely controlled from the central taxi station.
Benefits
The main benefit of the Hytera PoC system is that it greatly improves the efficiency of communications between central controllers and taxi drivers. Taxi companies can now provide a much more efficient and faster service for customers and reduce passenger waiting times.
The ability to make group calls cuts the cost of one-to-one calls using smartphones. As there is no need to invest in spectrum or infrastructure, this makes PoC a very cost effective solution.
The PoC dispatch function available through the Hytera PoC3000 system and PNC370 radios means central controllers now know the exact position and status of each taxi, making their job easier and the service more efficient.
The PNC370 radio also provides enhanced safety protection for taxi drivers as they can make an emergency call at a single click of the button. Finally, Hytera's policy of providing an open API platform means that taxi companies can customize their solution.
