Have you ever stood in the prepaid taxi queue outside Howrah station in Kolkata?
The agony of the long wait, first for getting your token and then for finding your cab – is often unbearable. Same is 
the case for almost all prepaid taxi booths in India.
We decided to do something about it. And we came up with our own pre paid taxi booth billing software. The first edition of the software has already been launched. It is up and working in Howrah station and assisting thousands of commuters in more efficient traveling.
The idea behind this initiative is to identify the taxis entering into the station and automatically assigning them to the passengers booking trips at the prepaid taxi booth.
Here’s how it works:
It is a combination of Rancelab’s billing software and the RFID technology used for tagging and identifying objects. The software contains a database of all locations in and around Kolkata and the respective taxi fares from the station to that distance.
The taxis are being attached with RFID tags. These tags contain a chip which has information about the particular taxi and they are being attached to the windscreen of the taxis. Simultaneously, RFID sensors have been installed at three crucial taxi entry points at Howrah station.
Whenever a taxi enters into a taxi lane, the sensors record the information of that taxi into the prepaid taxi booth software database built by Rancelab. The incoming taxis then get assigned to the customers at the prepaid taxi queue.
Here’s how this software has improved commutation:
More than 7000 taxis have already been updated with this technology. And the rest of the taxis in Kolkata are expected to come under its purview very soon.
This software has drastically reduced the waiting time and queue lengths at the prepaid taxi stand outside Howrah station. Earlier passengers needed to queue once for the token and then again to get a taxi number allocated to them. Now they can just look up the taxi whose number is given on the booking receipt.
Not only is this more comfortable and efficient, but has also brought down the chances of malpractice in this system. The unique billing software has made the prepaid taxi booths more customer friendly for the passengers.
If you manage a prepaid taxi booth and are looking for similar solutions, we can help you. Do get in touch with us.
