Database improves taxi management

BEIJING: Beijing has established a “vehicle warning database” that identifies dubious behavior — including taxi drivers who take passengers on unnecessarily longer routes or those who drive while fatigued — and collects data that can be used for smarter traffic management. According to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport and the Beijing Smart Transportation Development Center on Wednesday, the system also facilitates data sharing with relevant departments for better coordinated management of the city’s public transportation sector.
Beijing’s taxi industry has integrated access to over 300 data resources, including basic information on taxi cruising, ride-hailing, vehicle positioning and operational data.
Through the development of a “smart brain” for the taxi industry, intelligent scheduling and monitoring have been realized over the past few years as Beijing has been leveraging technology to drive reform and development within the taxi service sector, according to the center. “Through big data analysis and algorithms, the system can proactively identify behavior such as unauthorized driving, taking longer routes, bargaining and driving while fatigued,” said Zhong Yuan, director of the engineering management department of the center. “Based on that information, a vehicle database could be formed.” –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item