A highly technical but easy to operate and less-costly communication system that integrates advanced technologies including the use of satellite promises to complete the odyssey of Davao into becoming a 21st century city. It is called the Taxi Fleet Dispatching and Management System or TFDMS which will complement the central 911 nerve center, the traffic signalization and the installation of closed circuit television (CCTV) in making Davao the safest and most secured
city in the Philippines.
The TFDMS is being introduced to the city government and taxi cab companies with the by Steve Lin, executive director of Eurekard Philippines, the solution provider. Lin arrived in Davao to talk to the city authorities and interested taxi operators to explain how the system works and the advantages that the general public, the taxi companies and the government will derive from the dispatching system.
Davao to be first
Lin said TFDMS integrates the following advanced technologies automatic vehicle locational (AVL) equipment, satellite positioning system (GPS), GSM/GPRS mobile communication, geographic information system (GIS), intelligent dispatching pattern and call center management system.
Escorted by lawyer Ramon Edison Batacan and land transportation expert Rene Tababa, Lin and Gerry Huang went to see 911 chief Verner Monsanto and observed briefly the sophisticated operation of the city’s 911 nerve center and later conferred with taxi operators, including businessman Ram Purswani, who’s interested to get the system for the Mindanao-wide dispatching of his fleet of passenger vans.
Once operational here, Lin said Davao City would be the first to have a TFDMS, which would be a tremendous boost to its reputation as a modern city, where one can do business and move around fast assured of safety and convenience.
He rattled off some of the advantages of the system as faster and systematic dispatch of taxicabs, decongestion of traffic and economy in gas because taxis will just stay in a queuing station instead of running around aimlessly in search of passengers. Passengers of taxicabs connected to the system will be assured of fast and safe delivery as the movement and location of each cab are closely monitored. Belongings of passengers left in the vehicle will be easily retrieved. With TFDMS, it would be easy to locate positions of taxis. The system facilitates fast dispatch of alarm and reaction in case of emergencies.
As the monitoring activities are recorded, it would be easy to report crime incidents and facilitate solution. Davao City operators I are the first to be offered the service because the local terrain is ideal for the system unlike Manila which is divided into several cities and jurisdictions and so many people of diverse interests to talk to, Lin said.
Lin, who’s a Taiwanese-American, is in technical partnership with Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd, “the PLDT of Taiwan. He said he has already met with some Davao operators to explain the system and the business model to be used by TFDMS here.
