IPOH: Members of the public who use mobile phones to call for a taxi will receive an SMS in three minutes if a taxi is on the way.
“The SMS will contain the registration number of the taxi sent to pick the client and also the driver’s contact number,” said Koperasi Bandaran dan Kampung Kinta Bhd secretary Choo Ching Wong.
He said the association’s 130 members were using the system.
“Since its soft launch in August, we have been getting at least 800 calls daily,” he said.
Cooperative chairman Wong Loke Kan said passengers do not need to worry about higher fares.
“We will maintain the fare rate that we are charging now. Passengers will not be charged for the SMS,” he said.
He said the cooperative decided to use the technology after it was informed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission that it would have to stop using the VHF frequency, currently used by taxi drivers, after Dec 31, next year.
“Instead of building another transmission tower and applying for a new frequency, we opted for this as it is less costly,” he said. By Sylvia Looi