Comfort Cab Equips Taxi Fleet with New-Generation Mobile Data Terminals

As part of an Integrated Transport Management System (ITMS) developed by ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems) for ComfortDelgro’s Taxi Booking & Despatch System, the Waveon 738P is a mobile data terminal (MDT) made by InfoWave to assist taxi drivers.

The ITMS replaces the old PMR (private mobile radio) system. Unlike the PMR system which allows the taxi drivers to decide whether they wanted a particular call and bid for it, the ITMS allows the taxi call centre to automatically do a “spot check” of taxis closest to the customer's location using GPS facilitated by Waveon 738P’s GPS receiver module.

The system then offers the call to the taxis with the closest coordinates. This better matches booking jobs to drivers, thus helping drivers to respond to calls more quickly and efficiently. The built-in GPS offers vehicle tracking and location mapping capabilities, even when the terminal is in power-saving or standby mode.

InfoWave has enhanced Waveon 738P to give the client and its drivers better and wider screen visibility, higher processing speed to enable a quicker refresh rate for maps, a larger storage media, a more sensitive GPS receiver module, an internal standby battery lest power becomes unavailable, and an extra DC power to connect with in-vehicle devices.

Waveon 738P also has a GSM phone application that enables the driver to make GSM phone calls via the LCD touch screen display. The built-in speaker and microphone allow the driver to communicate with ease while on the road.

Waveon 738P offers several communication and interface ports including USB, compact flash, and serial ports to allow the terminal to be easily connected to devices such as taxi meter, in-vehicle unit (IU) and fare printer.

The terminal comes with an On/Off button at the centre of the touch screen display, allowing the driver to turn off the screen when it is not in use. This feature enables the terminal to go into power-saving mode, thereby drawing minimum power from the car battery.

From the drivers’ perspective, InfoWave’s Waveon 738P is clearly an improvement. Its anti-glare, wide-screen 7-inch TFT display is built for all weather and driving conditions.

In addition, Waveon 738P facilitates the prompt display of booking reminders and digital maps to help drivers navigate to the customer’s pick-up location quickly, which in turn reduces the response time for the passengers. In the event of any emergency, the ITMS allows the drivers to transmit alerts via InfoWave’s Waveon 738P to the taxi call centre so that help can be dispatched to them immediately.

The Waveon 738P also facilitates the text-to-speech feature offered by the ITMS, in which text messages such as pick-up locations that are displayed on the terminal are converted into speech. For example, a taxi fare of S$9.50 can be programmed to be read out as “Please pay nine dollars and fifty cents”. This ensures drivers’ concentration is not taken off the road.

In the same way, the ITMS is able to broadcast useful messages and reminders to passengers in the taxi via Waveon 738P e.g. “Please fasten your seat belt” or “Have you left anything behind?”

From the passengers’ perspectives, InfoWave’s Waveon 738P which is interfaced with a magnetic strip reader and EMV (Euro Master Visa) compliant terminal offers them more payment options such as Nets and credit cards. Waveon 738P also integrates data from other electronic devices such as the taxi’s meter, IU and printer for better operating synergy.

A total of 3,000 Comfort taxis will be installed with InfoWave’s latest Waveon 738P by the end of 2006. InfoWave’s MDTs would be installed in a total of three phases. Each phase will take between 1 to 2 months, as each installation involves thousands of taxis.