Taxi Driver Online

Social media helps protect passengers with new cab safety scheme



A SMARTPHONE app which aims to increase the safety of people travelling in taxi or private hire vehicles has been launched today (October 22) by a Bedford software development company.

Travel Safer by Pacific Data allows the user to ‘Check In’ to a vehicle by entering the car registration plate in to the app and gives the option of adding a photo of the vehicle.

The time and location of the user check in is automatically captured by the app and posted, along with the vehicle details, to the user's Facebook timeline.

Friends and relatives are then able to track the journey via social media.

Founder of Travel Safer Anthony Price, said: “Not only does the application give friends and family reassurance their loved one is traceable, it provides accountability to both passengers and drivers of taxi or private hire vehicles, potentially preventing a problem before it exists.”

Available UK wide, Travel Safer plans on expanding its application globally over the coming months, as well as launching a driver version to support the well being of genuine licensed drivers.

Steve Wright, chairman of the Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA), said: "Anything that helps with personal saftey for passengers or drivers is a good thing.

"LPHCA welcomes all initiatives that increase the saftey and wellbeing of the travelling public, This is a very good idea and it makes it much more difficult for illegal touts."

Anthony added: “Genuine drivers and passengers alike recognise that a small number of rogue unlicensed vehicles can potentially damage the reputation of a valuable sector of the public transport network. Our application will support the ongoing fight to ensure touts and unlicensed drivers are eradicated from our streets.”

An earlier version of the app was released last year but was suspended after the council found it too complicated to operate on the existing database.

The innovative service originally worked by the passenger typing in the cab’s registration plate to check if it was licensed and the type of licence. It also created a ‘geographic footprint’ notifying family or friends of the customer’s location.

Anthony added: "This service does not involve the council's database but can be used in conjunction with any investigations being carried out on rogue drivers."


Read more: http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/News ... z2iWb5FWzD

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

Oh dear god, really ?!?
Are people really going to take a pic of the cab and enter the reg number ? And which saddos want to follow someones journey in a cab via facebook. What's the next bright idea, take a photo of the driver, their driving licence, maybe get a DNA sample just in case.

Hows it going to make it harder for illegal touts ? All they're doing is recording a reg no. - not checking it against any database, if there's no incidents during the journey nothing will come of it.

How about an app that does nothing but flash up a message saying 'ONLY USE CLEARLY MARKED TAXIS OR PHONE REPUTABLE PH FIRMS'

Yeah right, when they can't even stand up they are going to be able to do the above.

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IDFIMH

add in half a bottle of spirits and the ability not to recognize council plates, badges, stickers and a lot more and we should be fine.

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Live life with a smile