Oulun Aluetaksi Improves Taxi Utilization and Customer Satisfaction with In-Vehicle Devices

As part of the GPS-based taxi management system developed by Finland’s leading IT services provider, Finnohm, for one of the leading taxi companies in Finland - Oulun Aluetaksi Oy, the Waveon 728 is a mobile data terminal (MDT) supplied by InfoWave to optimize utilization of taxis and improve customer satisfaction.

Oulun Aluetaksi Oy is one of the leading taxi companies in Oulu, Finland. The taxi call centre handles an average of 1,000 phone reservations a day, with taxi bookings going up during public holidays.

With the new taxi management system in place, taxi fleet management has improved and brought greater travel comfort and security to commuters in Oulu. Using GPS facilitated by Waveon 728’s GPS receiver module, Oulun Aluetaksi Oy’s taxi management system checks the position of its fleet every 30 seconds and communicates the information to the taxi call centre. The system enables the call centre operator to find an unoccupied taxi closest to the passenger’s location. This helps to improve the utilization of taxis, and allow passengers to enjoy a better, effective, and more reliable taxi service.

Waveon 728 is also integrated with a security camera, which is tucked above the rear-view mirror of each taxi. Functioning as a security feature, the camera which takes wide-angle picture of the taxi’s interior every 30 seconds can be activated by a hidden switch. The pictures are then stored using the available external storage options offered by Waveon 728. These pictures shall serve as permissible evidence should a crime is suspected to have taken place.

A total of 750 Oulu taxis were fitted with InfoWave’s Waveon 728 MDT in 2005.