Taxi Cab Vehicle Tracking Solutions

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In recent years, vehicle tracking software has transformed taxi fleet management. Enabling dispatchers and taxi fleet owners to keep tabs on their cabs and manage them effectively, the technology provided by top suppliers is easy to use, quick to download and cheap to install.

But what exactly is taxi cab tracking, and who are the best taxi tracking software providers? Let’s take a closer look.

What is cab tracking?

Using GPS technology, cab tracking systems enable taxi fleet managers to track where their cabs are in real-time. Cab tracking can help drivers get to customers faster, boost fuel efficiency, give in-depth insight with reporting features, and enable drivers to log jobs and receive directions.

Telematics is an advanced feature of taxi cab tracking software. Telematics systems act like a black box, which allows owners and fleet managers to track taxi driver behaviour. The technology records whether drivers accelerate or brake too hard, or leave the engine idling for too long.

Taxi tracking software — the top providers

There are so many software options out there for taxi companies and taxi fleet managers who want to track their cabs and monitor the performance of their fleet and their drivers. But which should you go for?

According to our research, the best taxi tracking software providers are:

MTData
Autocab International
Digital Dispatch
Envoy Taxi Dispatch Systems

Supplier	Live Route Tracking	Hard Braking/ Acceleration	Fares Completed	Management Tools	Driver Tools
MTData	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Autocab International	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
Digital Dispatch	✓	✗	✓	✓	✗
Envoy Taxi Dispatch Systems	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

MTData

MTData is one of the biggest players in transport management software. Its taxi dispatch system includes GPS location tracking, as well as advanced tools like management dashboards – using which you can review your fleet’s efficiency and performance against your KPIs – and driver performance monitoring, which can inform you of any harsh braking, speeding or excessive fuel usage that goes on. MTData also provides a smart dispatch system, and a driver portal on which your cabbies can see real customer feedback and explore areas for improvement. The software uses 3G and 4G technology to ensure drivers stay connected at all times.

Autocab International

An international company that specialises in taxi fleet management software, Autocab has over 20 years of industry experience – and has built a stellar reputation in that time. Autocab’s Ghost Cloud Booking & Dispatch system enables you to check your cabs’ live locations and status, and easily assign the closest available driver to incoming jobs. You can also use integrated billing and cashiering, set up an automatic text back function for customer comms, and view insightful business performance reports. Importantly, this software functions solely on the cloud, making it scalable, affordable, and accessible from any device.

Digital Dispatch

Part of the DDS Wireless International Group, Digital Dispatch is a leading provider of dispatching systems for taxi fleets of all sizes. Its TaxiBook software is simple to use, and comes with affordable monthly rates. Specialising in taxi booking and dispatching, TaxiBook includes vehicle tracking and mapping as a key element of this. This software also includes a simple booking system, enables billing and invoicing and driver cashiering, stores a database of addresses and buildings, and enables in-vehicle card payment processing. TaxiBook is hosted on the cloud, with system updates and maintenance taken care of for you.

Envoy Taxi Dispatch Systems

This UK-based company’s comprehensive web-based app – the Envoy Taxi Dispatch System – caters specifically to private hire taxi companies. Envoy prides itself on how easy this system is to use, touting it as a “revolutionarily easy way of booking jobs, dispatching taxis and managing customers and drivers”. The Envoy Taxi Dispatch system comes with a variety of handy features, including return and repeat booking functions, an integrated fare calculator for both fixed and metered fares, one-click branded invoice raising, SMS confirmations to customers, and more. Importantly, the company won’t tie you down to a lengthy contract – it offers rolling 30-day contracts instead.

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Expert verdict

There’s no doubt that installing taxi tracking software comes with great benefits. Most taxi fleet management software on the market today is designed to improve vehicle, driver and business performance. Not to mention that such software can reduce costs, in both time and consumables (such as fuel).

Our research has found that MTData, Autocab International, Digital dispatch, and Envoy Taxi Dispatch Systems are all excellent providers of taxi cab tracking and dispatch systems. However, if you’d like a bit of help in finding and choosing the very best provider for your taxi or private car hire business, we can help.

Simply tell us about your business fleet using this quick form, and you’ll receive customised quotes from Expert Market-approved suppliers that can set you up with what you need. This process is fast, free and easy – what’s not to like?

How We Ranked Taxi Cab Vehicle Tracking Solutions

We've researched 29 market-leading fleet management and vehicle tracking systems to evaluate them in terms of functionality, usability, accuracy, and aesthetics so we can make the most useful recommendations to UK businesses.

Our rigorous research and assessment processes mean these products have been scored and rated in six main categories of investigation and six subcategories – in fact, we covered 51 areas of investigation in total. We then gave each category score a ‘relevance weighting' to ensure the product's final score perfectly reflects the needs and requirements of Expert Market readers.

Our main testing categories for vehicle tracking systems are:

Price: the cost associated with using the vehicle tracking software, including upfront costs, subscription fees, hardware costs (if applicable), and any additional charges for advanced features or add-ons.

Tracking: the core functionality of the vehicle tracking software, which involves monitoring and tracking the location and movements of vehicles in real-time, such as GPS tracking, route optimisation, and geofencing.

Driver Management: the features and tools provided by the vehicle tracking software to manage and monitor driver activities. This can include driver behaviour monitoring, driver performance reports, and driver identification.

Vehicle Management: the functionalities that allow for the efficient management and maintenance of vehicles, such as vehicle health monitoring and maintenance scheduling.

Product Features: the additional functionalities and capabilities offered by the vehicle tracking software beyond basic tracking and management, such as real-time alerts and notifications or driver routing and dispatching.

Support: the resources, assistance, and guidance provided by the vehicle tracking software company to users, including phone support, email or chat support, and online forums.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does taxi tracking software cost?

There are a number of different kinds of taxi dispatch system, all with different prices – ranging from cheap, smart phone-enabled software apps to expensive high-end installations.

Generally speaking, it’s possible to either rent software from cab tracking companies, or buy it outright. Renting means avoiding expensive upfront costs while still getting full software and hardware support, with renting on a per-car basis giving you a lot of control over what you pay for.

If you opt to buy your software upfront, you can expect to pay anything from £200 to £1,000, for more high tech systems.

What are the benefits of taxi fleet management software?

There are numerous benefits in having a good tracking system for a taxi fleet of vehicles. Depending on the taxi software selected these could include:

✔ Drivers arrive at pickup points faster because the network of vehicles is better controlled

✔ Dispatchers can assign and reassign drivers quickly to improve resource allocation.

✔ Fuel costs are kept as low as possible thanks to improved efficiency.

✔ Monitoring taxi driver habits reduces the chance of accidents.

✔ Better driving improves customer experience.

✔ Drivers perform better because they are being monitored.

✔ Customer loyalty increases by tracking the best and quickest routes.

✔ Track large fleets as well as small ones and deal with high volume bookings easily.

✔ Check how long a driver has worked, how many jobs they’ve done and whether they need a break.

✔ Avoid congestion charges in areas like London.

✔ Get accurate details of pickup times and routes in case of a dispute.

Will my drivers find tracking software intrusive?

This is a common problem that is easily overcome in most companies who are introducing tracking software for the first time.

Communicate to your drivers that the tracking software is not being introduced out of mistrust but for the variety of benefits it offers to the business. The better the business does, the better it will be for the employees.

There are also direct employee benefits to vehicle tracking, such as less paperwork to fill out and proof of working hours to guarantee they always get the right amount of pay.

If your drivers use their vehicles in their downtime too, assure them that they will not be tracked during these hours, or any time that they are unaware (covert tracking is illegal). Many vehicle trackers have a privacy buttons feature for this purpose.