Taxi Driver Online

We are presently going to our members to vote for an upgrade from pen and paper to data(master). We are going to initially go with a PDA based system in the cars (cost, mainly). This leads to the question posed in the title. Who among the multitude of providers ticks the most boxes? We have quotes from O2 and Orange so far. The packages are similar, but there's a nigh on £200 difference per month in the tariff. Should go with the cheapest, (orange) or with the name the members seem to trust most (O2)? Is there a better alternative? I would ask Bill directly, but as he's in line to supply the office software, I don't want to put him on the spot wrt the cars as well. (please feel free to put in your thoughts anyway Bill)


BTW we are a driver owned taxi firm, (no PH). So the one downside I see is the meter won't change the status (in the office) when there's a pick up from the rank or dispatched hire. Is there some way to do it, or will we have to trust the drivers to declare when they go on hire? Which, of course, being fair minded, they all will.

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My heart is heavy, but my consience clear,
I voted Yes, without any fear.

What network gives the best signal coverage in your area, thats what you should be checking first then see what deal you can get

Ours are on Orange who IMO are a bag of ***te, always losing connection on busy nights, New Years Eve is a nightmare because the whole network goes down, mind your ours is with Excell so they might be the problem.

As for picking up off the rank, you'll have to trust the drivers to tell you when they've picked up via the flag down button.

All the offers change like the weather and most people haggle and negotiate for the best deal. I know where I would go personally but for me to advise here wouldn’t be right.

Also, you can’t use your past mobile phone experience to judge data coverage because the data networks are growing much faster than phone networks and despite anything that gets said here, we don’t see any issues with any of them.

As for picking up on ranks, there’s an on screen facility to show this or alternatively, we can supply a small meter line adapter device.

Bill

I think orange definately has benefits, the vitamin c is essential for your well being and general health.

At the same time cO2 is equally vital.

I hope this post is of use

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Orange has the 2 for 1 cinema tickets on Wednesdays.

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Grandad,

As others have said, you have to rely on drivers changing the status. If your drivers are anything like those of companies we've supplied in the past then they will occasionally forget!

Between ourselves and our customers we've used pretty much all the UK networks and most of them are OK. If there's a network in your area which doesn't have any phone coverage then obviously don't go with them, There's two networks we advise people not to use but they're not on your list!

You can also look on the mobile phone providers web site and they will have a coverage map which gives you a rough idea of the coverage you can expect. These maps aren't accurate, however, as they're based on signal propagation estimates based upon the topography of the land and should only be used to give you an idea of coverage.

As for the difference between O2 and Orange, if the signal's not an issue then you probably want to look at the devices you're being offered (if you're getting your own PDAs) and the cost of the contract.

O2 will usually supply the XDA Guide which is a nice size and also has physical buttons on the device which can usually be mapped to perform functions (I'm sorry, I don't know the software you'll be using so can't comment on whether these would be of any use to you but I'm sure Bill will be along to let you know! ). The XDA Guide also comes with a car kit containing a windscreen mount and a car charger included in the pack.

Orange will usually supply the Touch 3G which is a smaller and thinner device than the XDA Guide. It's still a nice device, however, and works just as well. From memory I think the screen of the Touch 3G is slightly smaller but I can't remember for sure. The Touch 3G doesn't, however, come with a car kit so you will need to get windscreen / vent mounts and also car chargers for the devices.

As Bill said, haggle with the networks. They are all up for doing deals and haggling is the best way of getting a good deal!

Regarding contracts, I've seen some network providers are now trying to sign customers up on a 5 year contract. Whilst this can work out to a cheaper per-month cost just be aware that a PDA in use 12-hours a day takes a lot of abuse and as such they may not last the 5 year term of the contract so a couple of pounds extra a month for a shorter term is often a good investment!

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Adam Kimber
Cab Despatch Ltd

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS POST ARE MY OWN AND MAY OR MAY NOT REFLECT THOSE OF CAB DESPATCH LTD.

Our lot put themselves on break when they get to trap one on the rank so the operator doesn't give them a job, when they pick up off the rank they take it off break making them available for work. Doing it this way makes waiting for a job much longer.

I know of a couple of our customers with hackney drivers who do the same. When they get to the front of the rank then they put themselves on a break so they don't get a job away from the rank.

I don't know if it's really of benefit to them as you might get a local fare off the rank and miss out on a good job on the circuit!


I'll bet it does! Do they put themselves off break the second they leave the rank, or do they actually wait until they've cleared their rank customer before they take themselves off break?

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Adam Kimber
Cab Despatch Ltd

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS POST ARE MY OWN AND MAY OR MAY NOT REFLECT THOSE OF CAB DESPATCH LTD.

A lot of drivers do that and to me it does make some sense because there’s no dead mileage involved. We provide an option to take cars from the back of a physical rank and that goes some way in resolving the issue but that’s something the drivers and owners have to agree upon.

As for the PDA’s on contract, I think you’ll find that they’ll only offer certain units on longer-term contracts and these will be the ones that they have some confidence in as regards their life expectancy. There are PDA’s on the market that wouldn’t last five minutes in a taxi let alone five years and as all contracts cover replacement of faulty devices, it’s absolutely in their interest to make sure they only supply ones that don’t break too easily.

Orange will supply mounting kits as part of the overall contract but do the sums and it just doesn’t make sense. Again haggle and get them to include it, I know companies that have done just this.

One thing that Orange is good for is that it has a flat rate replacement cost of about £70 if a device is accidentally trashed/stolen while all the others tell you to insure them with a replacement value of several hundred pounds.

Bill

We've just gone down the pda route and found Orange to offer the best deal. As regards mounts and chargers you may as well get them off ebay. if you need any more info pm me. Hello Bill !

Our system (and I'm sure others) picks the "best" driver for a job. In certain cases this can be the driver at the front of a rank who's only 100 yards away from a job rather than have to run a driver from the other side of town to cover a booking! Whilst the driver at the rank is going to do no dead mileage when he gets a job from the rank the other poor driver is going to do more dead mileage!

I understand why the drivers themselves do it and it's something that companies do sometimes want and we will (and do!) accomodate but it's not something that makes much sense for the circuit as a whole!

Ultimately it's as you say down to the drivers and the owners to agree on how best they want their circuit to allocate work and policies such as "break / flagdown when first on rank" as they see fit.


I know of sites with 100+ cars that have now been on PDAs for several years, many of these devices have been "taxi favourites" such as the O2 XDA Orbit (HTC P3300) which tend to have a proven life expectancy on these circuits of around the three years mark. After this you start getting various failures on the devices which can be put down to excessive wear and tear. This isn't to say that all PDAs will die within three years, just that it makes sense to budget for replacement of the PDA around this time.

The contracts I've recently seen some of our clients being offered by one of the large networks (mentioned in the OP) only cover 2 years warranty / replacement on the device. If the client signs up for a 5 year contract then it's down to them after these 2 years. The recent devices I've seen from a network offering 5 year contracts really don't appear to be built for the term. This is obviously IMO and maybe I'll be proved completely wrong and they will last 5 years although I doubt it. It's just that if it was my money, I'd be happier paying a couple of pounds extra a month for a little more peace of mind.


I've known companies to haggle but as I understand it the commercials at Orange have recently changed, anyone taking out a new contract will likely be offered the new commercials and these won't include the kit and there really isn't that much wriggle room to barter on the new deals they're offering!

On the "Orange Accessories" website is the "Drive Safe Pack" which isn't a bad deal. It's recenly gone up to £10 but it does include a universal mount and charger which does for most needs.


Which device was this on? Is there a limit to the number of £70 replacements you can have and do you need to have Orange Care on the device?

Ultimately it's up to the individual company as to the level of risk they wish to take on based against what they can afford for the airtime contracts. There's the right deal for everyone and as their software provider is unlikely to be tied to a particular network then it's always a good idea to ask their advice before jumping into a contract.

We go through all the different contracts from the different networks with our prospective customers and help guide them through what can be quite a complicated process of ensuring you're getting a good device for a good price!

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Adam Kimber
Cab Despatch Ltd

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS POST ARE MY OWN AND MAY OR MAY NOT REFLECT THOSE OF CAB DESPATCH LTD.

Sorry, my biology was poor at school.

The following is from wiki.....it might therefore be wrong.

Carbon dioxide
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
"CO2" redirects here. For the UK postal district, see CO postcode area.
Carbon dioxide


IUPAC name[hide]Carbon dioxide
other names[hide]Carbonic acid gas; carbonic anhydride; dry ice (solid)
Identifiers
CAS number 124-38-9 Y
PubChem 280
ChemSpider 274
EC number 204-696-9
UN number 1013
Solid (dry ice): 1845
Mixtures with Ethylene oxide: 1952, 3300
RTECS number FF6400000
SMILES [show]O=C=O
InChI [show]1/CO2/c2-1-3
InChI key CURLTUGMZLYLDI-UHFFFAOYAO
Properties
Molecular formula CO2
Molar mass 44.010 g/mol
Appearance colorless, odorless gas
Density 1.562 g/mL (solid at 1 atm and −78.5 °C)
0.770 g/mL (liquid at 56 atm and 20 °C)
1.977 g/L (gas at 1 atm and 0 °C)
849.6 g/L (supercritical fluid at 150 atm and 30 °C
Melting point -78 °C, 194.7 K, -109 °F (subl.)

Boiling point -57 °C, 216.6 K, -70 °F (at 5.185 bar)

Solubility in water 1.45 g/L at 25 °C, 100 kPa
Acidity (pKa) 6.35, 10.33
Refractive index (nD) 1.1120
Viscosity 0.07 cP at −78 °C
Dipole moment zero
Structure
Molecular shape linear
Related compounds
Other anions Carbon disulfide
Other cations Silicon dioxide
Germanium dioxide
Tin dioxide
Lead dioxide
Related carbon oxides Carbon monoxide
Carbon suboxide
Dicarbon monoxide
Carbon trioxide
Related compounds Carbonic acid
Carbonyl sulfide
Supplementary data page
Structure and
properties n, εr, etc.
Thermodynamic
data Phase behaviour
Solid, liquid, gas
Spectral data UV, IR, NMR, MS
Y (what is this?) (verify)
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox references

Carbon dioxide (chemical formula CO2) is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state. CO2 is a trace gas being only 0.038% of the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide is used by plants during photosynthesis to make sugars, which may either be consumed in respiration or used as the raw material to produce other organic compounds needed for plant growth and development. It is produced during respiration by plants, and by all animals, fungi and microorganisms that depend either directly or indirectly on plants for food. It is thus a major component of the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is generated as a by-product of the combustion of fossil fuels or the burning of vegetable matter, among other chemical processes. Small amounts of carbon dioxide are emitted from volcanoes and other geothermal processes such as hot springs and geysers and by the dissolution of carbonates in crustal rocks.

As of March 2009[update], carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere is at a concentration of 387 ppm by volume.[1] Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide fluctuate slightly with the change of the seasons, driven primarily by seasonal plant growth in the Northern Hemisphere. Concentrations of carbon dioxide fall during the northern spring and summer as plants consume the gas, and rise during the northern autumn and winter as plants go dormant, die and decay. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas as it transmits visible light but absorbs strongly in the infrared and near-infrared.

Carbon dioxide has no liquid state at pressures below 5.1 atmospheres. At 1 atmosphere (near mean sea level pressure), the gas deposits directly to a solid at temperatures below −78 °C (−108.4 °F; 195.1 K) and the solid sublimes directly to a gas above −78 °C. In its solid state, carbon dioxide is commonly called dry ice.

CO2 is an acidic oxide: an aqueous solution turns litmus from blue to pink. It is the anhydride of carbonic acid, an acid which is unstable and is known to exist only in aqueous solution. In organisms carbonic acid production is catalysed by the enzyme, carbonic anhydrase.

CO2 + H2O ⇌ H2CO3
CO2 is toxic in higher concentrations: 1% (10,000 ppm) will make some people feel drowsy.[2] Concentrations of 7% to 10% cause dizziness, headache, visual and hearing dysfunction, and unconsciousness within a few minutes to an hour.[3]

If you managed to keep up with that, heres a picture



In short, CO2 is either good, or bad.

I hope this post helps you.

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I thought it was good for trees and other plants and bad for humans and other mammals. Am I wrong?

PS CC no it didn't help

_________________
My heart is heavy, but my consience clear,
I voted Yes, without any fear.

They take it off break as soon as they have picked up off the rank meaning the chap who was 1st in line on the system goes down to 2nd. It's been an ongoing issue on our circuit for the last year.

One driver dropped off at Luton a few weeks ago. He came all the way back to Nottinghamshire junc 28 on a break, when he cleared the break it gave him a job.