Fare Play

The Parking Authority's plan to put GPS in all taxis is giving cabbies road rage.

by Natalie Hope McDonald

"It doesn't even work," says Ron Blount, president of the Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania. Blunt complains that drivers who are part of the pilot program, 200 so far, have been logging dozens of malfunctions. "It freezes all the time," Blount says. "When it crashes, the meter goes out. When it does work, it takes four minutes for the navigation to program the route."

: Natalie Hope McDonald

Many of us already use some form of GPS — Sprint lets parents track kids using new GPS cell phones — and even more log into MapQuest for customized directions. Cab companies worldwide have also been taking advantage of high-tech navigation in Ireland, Spain and San Francisco, where taxis are outfitted with similar technology, not unlike OnStar or devices from TomTom, Magellan and Garmin. The use of GPS can even customize digital ads that appear on cabs. For instance: A new Broadway show may be advertised in the theater district while a banner for Budweiser may show up on the way to a sports event. Londoners can even use their cell phones to hail a cab on a nearby street thanks to GPS. At home in Philly, however, taxi driver Nour Mophlis, 42, says the technology, supplied by New York-based TaxiTronic, isn't helping him or his customers.

"It's a very slow program," says Mophlis. "It's like a dial-up system compared to DSL. I have to start my car, wait for the GPS to get on." While Mophlis, who regularly makes trips to and from the airport, admits he likes the idea of being able to punch in an address and be handed detailed directions, he says this particular system is outdated. "And during the day, there's no way to see the screen because of the sun," he says.

Complaints are not preventing the Philadelphia Parking Authority from going ahead with more installations come October. "The most obvious benefit," says Jim Ney, PPA's director of taxi cabs and limousines, "is it will offer rear passenger payment, allowing customers to use their credit and debit cards. It will also accept our Smart Card that you can use in [parking] meters around the city."

Ney says the combination GPS and credit card system also features a panic button for drivers facing danger. "Dispatchers will know where all 1,600 medallion cabs are at all times," he says. Drivers will have to start their shifts by swiping in with a card that logs them into the system. He says the system takes two and a half minutes to boot. "Drivers have to do that once a day," says Ney, who admits they don't have to use the GPS component for all trips. "What we can use this for is in those instances when customers feel they were gouged," Ney says. "We'll be able to check that."

Not all drivers like the idea of being monitored. Steve Cheryenka, 46, a part-time driver for Quaker City, is adamantly opposed to the city-mandated GPS. "This is being forced on me and the industry without any choice," he says. "The GPS takes away my independence. I am going to make less money with GPS because the PPA is going to be taking part of my earnings."

Mophlis has experienced this firsthand. His biggest complaint is waiting for his charged tips to be processed in New York before being sent to Philly. "I have to wait three to four business days," he says. "I have to go to Broad and Wallace and retrieve my money. But there's a 5 percent fee."

TaxiTronic, the company responsible for supplying and processing fees, did not return calls. But the company, which supplied credit card taxi meters and customer-controlled air conditioning in Philadelphia's Yellow Cab fleet back in 2000, is no stranger to problems.

Unlike many consumer-friendly devices that users can secure to a dashboard themselves, TaxiTronic's GPS system requires professional installation costing $300 for each device, in part, because of the addition of credit card machines. And if the device is stolen or destroyed, Blunt says the driver is held responsible to the tune of $2,500.

And as for the argument that GPS will make drivers safer, some say it may put them in greater danger. Computer-planned routes could force drives to follow paths they might rather avoid, says Blount, even into the most dangerous neighborhoods.

"I've been driving in bad neighborhoods for 23 years," says Cheryenka. "Is the GPS going to stop kids from throwing rocks at my cab in South Philly?"

(n_mcdonald@citypaper.net)