The Shared Taxi

Summary

The problem of the private automobile has seemed intractable for decades. Recently a number of technologies have matured that will give rise to the Shared Taxi, for the first time a viable alternative to the private automobile for urban transportation. The Shared Taxi solves environmental problems by decreasing carbon dioxide emission and dependency on petroleum products.

The automobile problem

Mass use of automobiles in cities has for decades been responsible for increasingly serious and persistently intractable problems: cost of highways and parking areas, both in money and in damage to urban amenity, air pollution, and noise. As the rising need for provisions for the handicapped proves, our dominant mode of transportation extracts a heavy toll in suffering and cost in terms of lifelong disability. Moreover, for the individual user of the automobile, freedom of transportation is beset with problems such as traffic congestion, the need to chauffeur children and those, inebriated or not, who have consumed alcohol. In addition, many are forced to drive for lack of alternatives, even though they do not feel confident in doing so under commonly occurring conditions such as heavy traffic on multilane expressways, darkness, rain, snow, and so on. The above considerations are almost universally agreed upon. Usually the conclusion is the need for a mass transit system of advanced technology and extremely high cost. Even if the cost were not a problem, a mass transit based on rail or large buses solves only part of the problem; it does not help one to get to the bus or metro stop with ones shopping. The frequent need to change causes delays that annul the higher speed of trains. Before considering such solutions we should realize the dismally low level of utilization in a transportation system based on the private automobile. A quick count reveals that most cars have one rider. Of the remaining, the majority has two. Even if the cars with two riders were serving the transportation needs of two, the utilization rate would be very low. But a good proportion of cars with two occupants only serve the need of one, the other being there to drive the car back. Hence their effective utilization rate is one. Similarly, the effective utilization rate of many vehicles with a single rider is zero, this rider being on her or his way to pick someone up, or returning from dropping someone off. Therefore a system that would increase the average effective utilization rate to two or three would be a spectacular improvement, and might be all improvement we need. I will argue that this is possible by an investment in existing technology that is negligible compared with the investment required for improvements in mass transit, not to speak of new transit systems. The alternative that I advocate is the Shared Taxi, a service providing door-to-door transportation in a minivan or standard sedan. Pick-up is within a few minutes of the phone call requesting the transportation. The ride is shared with others, but no more than a small number, say, three, of stops for others is guaranteed for every rider. In the remainder of this note I show that the technologies enabling such a service are already in widespread use.

Mobile communication and navigation aids

In recent years many taxis have been fitted with an automated radio communication system that allows the driver to transmit location and availability information to the dispatcher by pressing a few keys on a console mounted on the dashboard. This is an important advance, as scarce radio bandwidth is more efficiently used, while interference with driving is decreased. This is just one technologically very modest advance, that is already in use on a large scale. Already on the market, though not yet widely used, is a plethora of more sophisticated devices that make deeper use of the recent revolution of mobile radio communication of which cellular phones and satellite-based navigation are examples. This technology enables a dispatcher to closely track and efficiently schedule a large fleet of vehicles.

Telephone registration

Telephone registration is another example of a recently introduced technology that is now widely used. A common application is a computer program that automates registration by telephone for a university's courses. The computer system answers the phone and interacts with the student by means of prerecorded voice messages. These messages inform the student whether a course is open for registration and instruct her or him to enter information by pressing dialing keys on the phone's handset.

Computer-based telephone switches

Booking a ride can be considerably simpler than registering for a course. This is so because the recent computerization of telephone switches makes it possible to provide to a callee with a detailed description of the location of the calling phone. In this way, the caller only needs to indicate destination, number of persons travelling and possibly the presence of unusual amounts of luggage. Thus, the Shared Taxi system needs no computer terminal in the client's home; only a phone.

Regulatory improvement

Part of the civilized life that we prize seems to be the need for transportation services to be licensed by government. Thus taxis need to be licensed and are barred from picking up another passenger when there is already one on board. Such regulation legislates explicitly against Shared Taxis. However, there are examples of more enlightened government. When I travelled from San Francisco airport to a downtown hotel, I travelled on a minibus shared by other passengers. I was guaranteed at most three stops for others on the way.

An opportunity for environment improvement

Environmental considerations make it desirable to convert vehicles from gasoline or diesel to other fuels that emit less carbon dioxide, pollutants. Any variation from the currently conventional fuels requires a greater capital outlay. The low utilization that is typical of the private automobile rules such improvements out. The high utilization of the Shared Taxi provides a welcome opportunity to make environmentally necessary changes.

Other benefits of the Shared Taxi

One of the most serious problems with private automobiles is the high accident rate. This is almost entirely caused by bad drivers and poorly maintained cars. With the low utilization typical of private automobiles, proper maintenance is a heavy burden. With the high utilization that goes with a Shared Taxi system, such maintenance is much easier to bear. Moreover, with a drastically reduced number of vehicles, inspection can be more rigorous. Among drivers there is an enormous variation in driving safety. Under a Shared Taxi system, nonprofessional drivers are an exception. Licensing can therefore be much stricter and can be run similarly to that for airline pilots, requiring periodic re-testing. Many people are unduly stressed by driving, especially under difficult conditions. A Shared Taxi system will relieve many of this burden.

Conclusion

Although the mass use of private automobiles causes many serious problems, alternatives have for decades proved infeasible. A number of technologies are coming into use that will combine to provide the alternative that has so far proved elusive. This alternative, which I call Shared Taxis, depend on existing improvements in mobile radio communication, satellite navigation, computerized telephone switches and telephone registration to provide a transit system that is as flexible as the private automobile in favourable circumstances without its high financial and other costs. In addition, Shared Taxis facilitate transition to environmentally less damaging fuel and propulsion technology.