The taxi industry is in bad shape and may be heading for more trouble if present conditions do not change, says a veteran taxi driver.

Lloyd Smith sounded the warning, but said he has come up with a way to revitalise the industry.

"The industry is out of control,'' Mr. Smith told The Royal Gazette late last week. "The taxi industry needs to admit that they have problems.'' Last week Mr. Smith presented a proposal to the Taxi Advisory Committee which he hopes will consider the use of a computerised dispatch system to help combat inefficiencies in the industry.

The technology -- the Cabmate system -- was developed in 1970 and six years later it was first introduced to the Island, but at the time it was thought to be too expensive.

Cabbie pushes high-tech fix At present cost, the updated system would cost about Cnd $600,000.

Cabmate works on the same principles as cell phones and pagers and Mr. Smith said all the hardware needed to operate the system already exists here.

By scanning four zones around the Island, a driver can simply sit in his yard and wait for a job to appear on his Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) screen. As he enters into different zones, the driver and car are automatically locked into a system where they can be provided with a fare in that area as soon the call is made.

Each driver receives a personal identification number and each time the driver begins working, they are logged into the computer via the MDT which uses Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology to tell the computer the location of the taxi.

When someone calls for a taxi, the closest available driver in the zone is given the job.

Everything is operated through the MDT which is about the size of a large electronic data organiser or graphic calculator.

Mr. Smith said "low beeps lets the driver know a call is coming through for them. Whatever is on that screen, you are the only one that knows,'' he said.

"The computer puts them in the area therefore enhancing what the taxi industry needs.'' The system also offers the benefit of giving the driver the exact location of the house right down to its colour, and other recognisable features.

"All you have to do is tell them how far you are travelling,'' Mr. Smith said.

Cabmate offers a six-to-ten minute response time. And with more than 600 taxis in service here, Mr. Smith is calling on a fraction of the cabs in order to get Cabmate operational.

Cabmate also benefits the passenger because once the caller makes the call, they can know the identity of the driver.

"The risk today is that anyone can get into a car and never know if the driver is legitimate,'' he pointed out.

"With this system they can start the car up, but they can't start the meter unless they enter their PIN number.'' He also claimed that the system will create more jobs in the taxi industry.

The system will need two call takers for every 100 cars, he said. The call takers will input the information into the system and the computer will handle the rest. And with Mr. Smith shooting for 200 cars, that means two more call takers will be needed.

Since statistics can be obtained via the system, owners of the taxi can tell when drivers started and ended their day.

Mr. Smith is awaiting the outcome of the Taxi Advisory Committee's decision on his proposal.