System on-System off and Geofencing

Today I learned another reason why your taxi may not show up on time, or at all. And here's how to combat it...

Normally, you call dispatch and dispatch sends you a cab. The dispatcher uses their system to offer the trip to a driver and after accepting your trip, the driver starts making his way toward you, the passenger.

However, on the way, maybe the driver sees another passenger on the side of the road surrounded by luggage hailing a cab. The cab driver considers you -- the trip he has already accepted from the dispatcher (which is short...) -- and weighs it against this probably airport trip (which is long). He pulls over and takes the passenger to the airport (remember: longer trip = higher fare = more $$ in driver's pocket). And YOU keep...on...waiting...

So what do companies do? The can "geofence" (only allow drivers to turn on their meter within a certain distance of the original scheduled pick-up. They can "time set" (drivers must have their meter on for above a certain time limit). The can provide incentive, discipline, but it is tough to control completely.

"System on - system off" is an interesting game a driver may play, which is: The dispatcher can tell that the passenger has been picked up because the driver turns their meter on in the "geo-fenced" vicinity (if they company is savvy enough). The dispatch loses track of you, the original trip, if the driver turns their meter on, then off (system on system off) and the original trip disappears because the system recognizes it as "picked up."

In this case, the driver is playing games and hurting the cab company in order to get a better fare and money into his own pocket (at the company's expense). He is hurting the company because every time someone does not get picked up, they stop using a particular company, maybe write a scathing review, maybe complain, maybe tell some friends. Depending on how you look at it, of course, the driver is only choosing to hurt the company because of the situation he is in. That is, he's an independent contractor that is obligated to pay a certain amount every day regardless of his performance or income (many sides to the issue...).