Equipment for Setting up a Taxi Company

Modern equipment for taxi dispatch companies is one of the important, underestimated cost items, when starting a taxi business. If you want to receive and process orders as quickly as possible, you should understand at once: walkie-talkies and phones won't get you far nowadays. This is a past stage in the development of taxi fleets. When equipping a taxi service, you need to pay attention to the following important points.

Your customers got used to convenient, fast and trackable orders through mobile applications or on the website. Therefore, from the very beginning provide a budget for a taxi automation program.

But even with full automation, it is impossible to imagine a taxi dispatch office without operators: unexpected circumstances can always arise that a human can handle better than a voice robot or an application. In order for the operators to work well, it is necessary to equip the dispatch office itself.

Cloud

- Operate through a web browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla, Opera, etc.)
- No installation required, all you need is a computer with an Internet access
- As a rule, the system can only be purchased for rent based on monthly payments

Installed

- Installed on your computer
- Purchased for ownership or rent

The service uses a large amount of data in its operation: information about orders, clients, drivers, financial relations. You have to control all databases of your company's servers. If you lose your database one day due to system failures, this will not only stop your company's operation, but it can also permanently deprive you of drivers and clients.

There are two database storage options: on your company computer (installable) or with the developer (cloud systems).

Server systems allow controlling the databases as the data is stored on the computer in the dispatch office.

Cloud systems currently in the market restrict access to data about orders, drivers and clients. Databases are stored only in the cloud on the developer's side. The service usually disposes of the database, when the service stops or if the payment is not made on time. Some cloud systems limit database storage for a few days to several months, after which the data is erased. You do not own the system, but the data stored and processed in it is yours by default.

What questions should you ask a developer?

- Where will information about my clients, orders, calls be stored?
- Will I be able to download the information to my computer if necessary?
- How long will the database be kept after the subscription ends?

Most cloud solutions on the market have limited integration with external systems: payment systems, order exchangers, maps for a more detailed display of the area.
Server solutions make it possible to do this. In addition, any API-based component can be added to them.

All these features make your service easier and more attractive to clients and drivers.

What questions should you ask a developer?

- Is the integration with exchangers for buying and selling orders possible?
- Is it possible to embed your own maps of the area?
- What other external services can be integrated with the system?

Cable Internet is more reliable than Internet modems

The Internet for the dispatch office must be stable, broadband and uninterrupted. Within a two-hour loss of communication, a taxi service can lose up to 50 clients - you can figure how much the savings on the Internet will actually cost. Therefore, good equipment for a taxi company should include:

• Cable Internet - it is more reliable than a modem, which is more likely to experience network failures and losses.
• Router to which the cable will be connected. It will unite all the servers and computers of your dispatch office into one local network. Choose a reliable manufacturer: many Internet service providers do not help you set up a network on a router from a little-known manufacturer.
• The server is a powerful computer on which the automation program will be installed. Make sure that the computer has good RAM (6-8 Gb), a dual-core processor and a capacious hard drive (no less than 500 Gb). These server characteristics are suitable for services of up to 1000 orders per day.
• Uninterruptible power supply (UPS). This will save your service in case of a power outage: your operators can save orders and shut down properly, data is not lost, and computers are not stressed by sudden switching on and off

Advice from Taxi-Master specialists: when choosing equipment for a taxi fleet dispatch office, take care in advance to have two Internet connection channels from different providers. Then, in case of a network failure, you can always use the backup.

The efficiency of your dispatch office depends on the work of the operators. And the good work of operators depends on how comfortable and convenient it is for them to take orders. When the dispatcher does not hear the client, when it is inconvenient for him to hold the handset with his shoulder, trying to simultaneously enter data into the program, there is no chance of a quality order acceptance.

• You can buy the simplest wired headset, without expensive backlighting. Headphones - with a microphone, so that they receive and transmit sound well, with a USB connector. Monitor - so that the dispatcher's eyes do not get tired of it and he can work on it the whole shift; but it is not necessarily a widescreen one.
• Computers for the operator workplaces are preferable to laptops. A good laptop will cost more than a simple work computer. The advantage of laptops is that they will not turn off in case of a sudden power outage, but for this purpose you have already bought a UPS from the previous item.
• GSM gateway and VOIP gateway. These devices are necessary in order to record conversations and calls, as well as to be able to interface the telephony. Simply put, these gateways allow converting the phone signal into the digital, computer one, and thereby combine the work of the entire dispatch office into one well-functioning system.

So, let's summarize all of the above and consider how much it will cost you to open a dispatch office with a complete setup of one workplace.

The minimum configuration of one workplace will cost you about 790 €. It is worth considering that when equipping additional workplaces in the dispatch office, you no longer need to buy a server and gateways, just lay a cable and configure the router.