Some NYC Taxis Try Out GPS-Based Fare Calculators

Being a taxi driver would mean you will never run out of stories to tell, especially when you have racked up years of driving experience ferrying people around. Still, it is not the most financially rewarding job on earth, although the human aspect of it cannot see any amount of money placed on it. Normally, taxis feature meters that will calculate the fare based on distance traveled and time taken, but several New York City taxis intend to make the switch to GPS-based fare calculators from existing metering systems under a pilot program which gained approval yesterday.

The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission voted to pass a measure which will see an overhaul of technology systems across a thousand city cabs, where at the moment they comprise of rather unwieldy TVs and credit card readers. Basically, the technology has been streamlined, as the new systems are smaller in nature, and obviously more portable. More importantly, they are also more affordable than existing systems that calculate fares based on physical components such as those that track the number of times a wheel turns as well as waiting time.

This pilot program will have a one year running time, where a quartet of cab operators will test out the new systems.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Transportation
Tags: GPS, taxi