NPR has an audio listen on the taxi situation in Philly, where cab drivers are protesting a plan to place GPS (Global Positioning Systems) in their vehicles. The GPS devices would allow the cab dispatchers to know and pinpoint the exact location of a driver, but the driver’s are saying this is a violation of their privacy.
Hmm… Personally, I think it is a great plan. I don’t catch cabs too often, but it peeves me to high heaven when I call one and wait decades for them to arrive. I start imagining all the stops or personal errands they decided to run in route to picking me up for my very important flight or meeting. (Violation of privacy – ha!) When you phone into the dispatchers it’s as if they are in a whole different world from the drivers. They always say something like this: “Yes, he will be there in five minutes. He said he is nearby.” Sometimes I just want to cough bull sh–, but I always keep my cool. Not to say all cab drivers taking the scenic route to get where they need to be or that they’re not stuck in traffic, but it would do dispatchers a great deal of wonder to be able to say something more specific and a little less generic.
Hope a plan like this works out in Philly for the greater good of people who actually have to get to important places or meetings.