Taxis use SMS to know where and when they are needed

Jordi Bordas

The Institut Metropolità del Taxi will inform taxi drivers where to pick up passengers by means of a text messages sent to each driver.

Because of recent high taxi demand at certain times during the day and in certain high traffic areas, the Institut Metropolità del Taxi (IMT) has launched a new formula to inform taxi drivers where they are needed. By sending a text message to each cab driver with the information, passengers will not lose their patience trying to find a cab in certain busy city areas. Almost 40% of the company’s cab drivers – that is about 4.000 taxi drivers- have already agreed with the idea.

President of the IMT, Francesc Narváez, admitted yesterday during the launching of this new communication formula that “cab drivers not always have the information of what is actually happening the city at certain times. Now with this system, they will be notified as to where and when they are mostly needed”. This formula is simple to use, direct and immediate. Cab drivers are informed from the central offices of the IMT where they are needed. “In certain cases – stated Narváez- this information will be provided ahead of time. For example, a cab drive will be notified that his service is needed in ten minutes at the Palau Sant Jordi where a concert has just ended or a musical respresentation at the Auditori has just concluded. The cab driver, that at that time, may be circulating around the city, will be notified prior to the conclusión of the event, so he can be there on time to pick up customers. If for any reason, the cab driver is not informed ahead of time of where he is needed, just by sending a text message to him, he can be there in a matter of minutes”. “The IMT – explained Francesc Narváez- knows what is happening in the city”.

The implantion of this new communication system will bring good results and for several reasons, one of them, is that, according IMT data, “75 per cent of cab drivers, always carry their cell phones with them, so the can be reached, at any time”. This formula “will cost nothing to cab drivers, since, receiving a text message is free”. And the Institut Metropolità del Taxi knows which are the cab driver’s preferred areas, making it easier to reach that certain driver for a certain area.

In order to gather as much information as possible as to where the taxi demand is higher, the IMT is negotiating with the Barcelona Port Authority (who is able to inform about the arrival of cruise ships or ferries that come in from the Balearic Islands or Italy), with the Fira de Barcelona, the Auditori or BSM, and the municipal entity who manages open spaces in the city, such as the Fòrum, the zoo, the Tibidabo, the Palau Sant Jordi or the Estadi Olímpic.

The first data received by the IMT, is that 4.000 taxi drivers out of 11.200, have agreed to use this communication system. The company in charge of providing this service is SITmobile, who has already worked with other entities such as Futbol Club Barcelona.