SINGAPORE - A new smart system that aims to better match taxi supply with demand here will be rolled out on a year-long trial starting Wednesday.
The Taxi Information System will employ heat sensors to detect commuters waiting in line, as well as cameras to display video footage for taxi drivers and commuters to view the queue status.
It will be implemented at seven taxi stands across the island, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a statement. The stands are at Harbourfront Centre, Hitachi Towers, Keck Seng Tower, Lucky Plaza, Ngee Ann City, OG People's Park and VivoCity.
Real-time footage of the taxi queues at these locations will be available online at www.mytransport.sg as well as on the MyTransport.SG mobile phone application. Information on the average waiting time at these stands will also be available by the end of the year.
The LTA said that during the trial's initial stage, the system is configured to alert taxi company call centres automatically when there are 15 or more people in a queue, and when the average waiting time exceeds 15 minutes.
"The call centres can in turn broadcast the information to their drivers to encourage unhired taxis to call at those taxi stands with high demand," it added.
"With the TIS, taxi drivers can reduce empty cruising while commuters can also look forward to shorter taxi waiting times."
