In metropolitan areas across the world, people wait for their taxis to arrive, but sometimes it never comes because the driver never found the address. In Monash, Australia, the city council created an SMS service that may put that to an end.
The city's taxi program has been in the works for more than a year and a half, but it is will launch once cab signs all over Monash are installed at popular destinations like the Chadstone Shopping Center and local university. Each "CABSTOP" sign will display a unique code that indicates exactly where the person is located, which will prevent confusion between the cab driver and the passenger to find one another.
"It's a world first for any taxi company to initiate bookings via Twitter [and SMS]," Simon Purssey, client services manager of the taxi organization, told the Herald Sun.
This system also decrease wait times for the passenger because they are no longer put on hold with a taxi company's operator. The text alerts service sends a booking number and confirmation immediately after the request has been made. Passengers would still have to pay a $2 booking fee.
Even though Monash's cab service offers the flexibility of sending a text message or tweet to the organization, studies have shown that SMS messages are read more frequently than their social media counterparts. Those who want to make the most out of their cab hailing experience in Monash should look into finding their cabs via text.
Local taxi companies trying to find ways to reach out to passengers in a shorter amount of time are able to through the support of their own SMS service. Swift SMS Gateway has the tools to help businesses create a platform that can handle an influx of requests and reservations.
