Electronics Review Vol 23 No. 3 - ST Electronics

Advanced taxi fleet managementsystem in Sharjah, UAEOn 16 January 2011, a new taxifleet management system becameoperational in Sharjah, a city in theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE). Taxisare now just a call away with theimplementation of this fully automatedand advanced Taxi Despatch andManagement System developed by STElectronics (Info-Comm Systems) forSharjah Transport.Long waits for taxis have becomea thing of the past, as commutersin Sharjah can now book taxis bydialling a single number – giving themaccess to a fleet of vehicles managedby Sharjah Transport. The systemautomated services by creating andmaintaining a database profile ofits customers. This eliminates theneed to take down details of repeatcustomers each time they call.Based on ST Electronics’ homegrown,patented and award-winning cetrac ®iCab automated taxi booking anddespatch system, it integratesInformation CommunicationTechnology (ICT), including wirelesstechnology, automated booking andintelligent data mining to despatchthe most suitably available taxi tocustomers in the shortest possibletime. The system also providesin the UAE and also its first project inSharjah.“Passengers in Sharjah enjoy bettercustomer service and shorter waitingtime; taxi drivers benefit fromincreased despatch efficiency; andfleet owners achieve lower vehicleoperating costs. We regard thissystem as one of great importanceto Sharjah as it elevates our statusas an emirate that offers first-classpublic transport for our residentsand visitors,” said Mr Abdullah MohdAl Zari, Director General, SharjahTransport.We regard this system as one ofgreat importance to Sharjah as itelevates our status as an emiratethat offers first-class publictransport for our residents andvisitors.Abdullah Mohd Al ZariDirector General, Sharjah Transportautomatically locates the taxi nearestto the caller’s location, then alertsand despatches the taxi driver to thejob. At the same time, it informs thecaller of the assigned taxi number andexpected time of arrival.Using General Packet Radio Service(GPRS) and Global Positioning System(GPS), the system allows SharjahTransport to track, locate and monitorthe status of its vehicles and enablescommuters to book taxis in advance.Sharjah Transport is also able toassess and evaluate the servicesoffered by its franchise companies.In addition, the call centre providesvarious channels of taxi booking forthe convenience of commuters.“The nearly 30 to 40 minutes regularwait for a taxi significantly drops toan average of 10 to 15 minutes. Thissaves time and increases operationalefficiency, as well as benefits theenvironment and traffic in Sharjah,”said Mr Mohammed Abdullah, ProjectManager, Sharjah Transport.With the commissioning of thissystem in Sharjah, ST Electronics hasachieved two significant milestones inthe UAE. This is the company’s firsttaxi management system launchedST Electronics has established astrong track record in providingadvanced telematics and fleetmanagement systems to manycustomers. Over 30,000 vehiclesworldwide have been equipped withits products and systems, includingTaiwan’s first large-scale, fullyautomated taxi despatch system andSingapore’s largest taxi fleet owner,ComfortDelGro, with a fleet of morethan 15,000 taxis – the largest in theworld.For more information, please call(65) 6567 6769 or email:info_infocomm@stee.stengg.comMAY 2011 17