Abstract
Taxicabs are very important in our daily lives and are reputed to be one of the mostly used forms of transportation. The cab dispatch system was first created to help passengers get through to taxi drivers and make it easier to book reservations. The evolution of cab dispatch system has moved from the ordinary callboxes to computer-aided dispatch system. These solutions were created to help organizations that own fleet of taxis manage and control their operations. Campuses and other partially closed environments also require these solutions but due to their high cost of implementation, they find it quite difficult to deploy and execute. In this paper, a smart dispatch system (SDS) is proposed. The system comprises of software and hardware units. The database and the android application make up the software unit while the microcontroller, the GSM module, and an android device constitute the hardware unit. The microcontroller intelligently reads and makes decisions based on the information received from the android device. The microcontroller also retrieves drivers’ details from a database where all the information about the vehicles and drivers are stored. The GSM module acts as the intermediary between the android device and the microcontroller, and enhances the communication between the microcontroller and other devices. The system makes use of a microcontroller that selects a driver and dispatches it based on the capacity of the vehicle corresponding to the number of passengers in need. Consequently, an android application is built to be used by the clients making the request process much easier. The proposed system reduces human operator intervention, gives the passengers the estimated time for the dispatched cab to arrive at their bus stops thereby satisfying the clients in terms of cost efficiency and improved quality of service.
Highlights
Taxicab is a popular and most used form of transportation across the world
The database and the android application make up the software unit while the microcontroller, the GSM module, and an android device constitute the hardware unit
A Type 1 vehicle has a capacity of 5-6 people and a type 2 has a capacity of 18-28 passengers, and so when clients send a request for cab, they have the option of selecting the number of passengers they have with them and depending on the number, say 4 or 5, an available type 1 vehicle is dispatched to them (Stadium, 2013). 3.1 Design of Proposed Smart Dispatch System Fig. 3 shows the block diagram of the system design and describes the architecture of the system that brings about the functionality of the design
Summary
Taxicab is a popular and most used form of transportation across the world. Driving a personal vehicle can be tedious due to heavy traffic in built up areas and in situations where one is too tired and indisposed; a taxi is very much useful and convenient. The MDT or mobile digital computer (MDC) is a portable computer device that is fixed and installed into vehicle, such as the taxicabs and police cars, to make communication with the dispatch centre far easier They are used to display information to the drivers such as client’s details, directions, general news and other relevant information (Stadium, 2013). The taxi driver receives and accepts the order using the mobile data terminal device installed in his vehicle and the dispatcher sends the information of the taxi such as taxi number and estimated time using real-time and route to the customer (Voon & Yow, 2010). The major benefits the GPS based dispatch system offers is improving the quality of service by dispatching taxis to customers based on the shortest distance. It will take less time for the customer to get a cab and for the driver to reach the customers via the shortest real-paths, which is the primary goal of a dispatch system (Seow, Dang, & Lee, 2009)
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