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By Greg Bartlett

Managing a fleet of independent cab drivers can be an incredibly exhausting endeavor, or it can be as easy as watching an automatically updating webpage. GPS tracking offers owners of taxi companies and their dispatcher almost instant access to the location of their drivers.

The primary advantage to a cab company is knowing where assets are in real-time. Armed with this information the dispatcher will then be able to see which driver is the closest available to take incoming calls and improve customer wait times. This also means that customers who call in can expect more accurate estimates of arrival than a vague ten minutes or soon. Taxis survive on word of mouth advertising, so happy customers equal more customers.

Additionally, the data generated by the devices can be collected and analyzed on a periodic basis to determine if the high volume areas are being adequately served. Rather than recording the address of each call, a very costly process in man-hours, the vehicle tracking device already documents each movement of individual cars within the fleet. This information will help to ensure that resources are placed where they are needed, or in the case of expansion show a bank the demand for service.

Sadly, driving a cab is not the safest job available, but this technology can help lessen the risk drivers face. If the GPS were equipped with a “panic button” that alerted the dispatch center of trouble they would then be able to request police assistance immediately. The current system, of a flashing light outside the car, relies too heavily on someone happening upon the incident, whereas GPS is able to protect the driver without witnesses.

Another concern for owners of these businesses is ensuring that drivers are actually working. These GPS tracking devices record all car movements, or lack thereof at set intervals. This allows the owner to take corrective action with an employee early before bad habits have a chance to start. With cab companies there is also the concern that drivers are using the cars for their own purposes – “off-the-books” as it were – a practice that the owner also needs to keep in check.

The benefits of adopting GPS tracking technology for fleet management are apparent. It will save money and increase employee safety. These devices have been shown to improve recovery rates for stolen vehicles and the installation of GPS devices lower insurance payments. Because data is stored digitally and accessible via internet, this may unshackle the small business owner from the office and free them up for life. For more information, call the friendly staff at Rocky Mountain Tracking, Inc at 1-888-242-0500.