Last autumn, Crown Taxi of Toronto, Canada completed installation of wireless POS (Point of sale) terminals operating on Rogers AT&T Wireless’ Mobitex network in its entire fleet of cabs. Since then, the company has seen a tenfold increase in credit card transactions, and both riders and drivers love the added convenience.

“Customers really appreciate the convenience of paying by credit or debit card. It is actually faster than paying with cash and eliminates the need for drivers and customers to fumble for the right change. We think it has given us a real competitive advantage in the market,” says Bob Donaldson, president of Fareport Capital Inc., which owns Crown Taxi.

The wireless POS terminals were supplied by eXcape Business Transactions Inc. as part of its fleetX wireless credit and debit solution for fleet markets. The fleetX POS terminal, which is available in both vehiclemounted and handheld versions, includes a built-in printer and is easy to operate, requiring only that the driver key in the fare amount and an ID number.

Behind the scenes, the accounts and reports components of the solution running on the backoffice system take care of the details of verifying the transaction and producing accounting records and sales reports. An alerts component is also available, offering drivers a panic button in case of emergency that uses GPS positioning to report the vehicles location to the dispatcher along with the alert.

“The taxi industry has remained one of the last cash businesses in North America. Crown has taken the lead in providing passengers the same convenience in paying for a ride the same way people pay for most purchases today, by credit or debit card,” says Dan Carriere, senior vice president and director of eXcape Business Transactions Inc.