Taximeter Technology Advancements - ncwm.net

Taximeter Technology Advancements

Professor Matthew W. Daus, Esq.

98th Annual Meeting of National Conference on Weights and Measures

July 16, 2013 — Louisville, Kentucky

Presented By

Professor Matthew W. Daus, Esq.

• Former NYC Taxi & Limousine Commissioner/Chair

• Distinguished Lecturer, University Transportation

Research Center (UTRC)

• President, International Association of Transportation

Regulators (IATR)

• Partner & Chairman, Transportation Practice Group

Contact: [email protected]

156 West 56th Street | New York, NY 10019

T. 212.237.1106 | F. 212.262.1215

A hansom cab at Madison Square, New York, circa

1900

In the beginning….

First Taxi Technology?

The modern taximeter was invented by Wilhelm Bruhn in 1891

For a long time, much has not changed until recently…

Argo Taxi Cab Meter Efficient Instruments Corp. New York, Made in

Germany

Taxi Technology

New York City (T-PEP)

Taxi Passenger Enhancement Program

•Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

•Passenger Information Monitors (PIMs)

•Driver Information Monitors (DIMs)

•Credit & Debit Card Swipes (RFID)

T-PEP Program – Functionality & Benefits

•Fully Integrated System

•Basic Functionality

•Driver Benefits:

•Business opportunities

•Emergency & other information

•Passenger Benefits:

•Lost property return – faster and more options

•Convenience – easier tipping methods

•Reduced costs vs. other transport modes

(e.g. black cars/limos)

•Passenger info.- news, advertising, government

•Data Collection

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Taxi, Livery, Black Car, Limousine…….

Yes, there is an app for all that, but…

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Is it the “Wild West”?

Hailing a taxicab or arranging

for transportation via a for-

hire vehicle is no exception.

Technology start-up and transportation companies

have started to flood the market with smartphone

applications.

Taxi Smartphone Applications As technology innovations continue, more and more resources are available via smartphone applications.

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•These apps allow

•“Hailing” or “arranging”

transportation (a significant legal

distinction)

•Arrange rides or ride sharing

•Expedite payments

Run the app and locate a service

Download an app

Payment via text,

email or other

payment

processing devises

How Does It Work?

Book a Taxi, Black Car,

Limousine…

In July 2012, the Windels Marx Transportation

Practice Group Published A Report Entitled:

“Rogue” Smartphone Applications for Taxicabs

and Limousines: Innovation or Unfair

Competition?

A National Regulatory Review of Safety,

Accountability and Consumer Protection Legal

Issues.

Legal Issues Identified with Rogue Apps

Is It a Taximeter? •Only taxicabs charge fares based on

distance and time.

•In the U.S., these taximeters are regulated

by the NIST standards at the state level

and are calibrated and inspected to meet

these standards.

•Apps use GPS to calculate the fare based

on time, mileage and demand – this does

not meet the taximeter standards.

The future is

happening

now!!!

Big Data for

Regulators

The Future of Ground Transportation is Happening

Now Complete Integration & Big Data •Taxicabs – the vehicle itself

•Taximeters

•In-Vehicle Security Cameras

•Advertising (exterior/interior)

•Apps (payment processing)

•Pads/Screens

•Black Boxes

•On Board Diagnostics – vehicle

computer

•Panic buttons

•Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

•Regulator Dashboards

•Improved Taxi Service

•Smart Taxis (environmental/traffic/fare efficiencies)

•Content (location based advertising/info.)

•App & T-PEP Integration

•Transportation Planning

•Data collection & analysis

•Traffic patterns & road planning

•Real-time traffic information

•Law Enforcement

•Double-parking, bus-lane & other traffic infractions

•Fraud prevention

•Other regulatory uses (e.g., E-ZPass, driver shift

limitations)

Big Data For Ground Transportation Technology T-PEP is Dinosaur Technology

Driver's identification established by authentication through Driver's license swipe or other secure system;

Date of shift;

Vehicle number, vehicle license number and vehicle status (available or hired);

Medallion number;

Number of passengers on each trip;

GPS-generated origin, incremental, destination coordinates of each trip;

The fare for each trip including applicable fees charged;

The following data will be collected through APIs from dispatch services:

San Francisco ETA System Data Elements

The following data will be collected through APIs from dispatch services:

The mileage for each trip;

The total number of trips for each shift;

The time of hire and discharge for each trip;

The starting and ending times and total hours of each shift; and

Any other data that the SFMTA is authorized to collect either in real-time

or as aggregate data.

San Francisco ETA System Data Elements

John Vincent Hurt

"The past was dead, the future was unimaginable." George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four

Is Big Data for Big Brother ?

Privacy Legal Issues

Privacy Rights & Taxi GPS Systems

Alexandre v. NYC TLC (SDNY 2007)

1% of medallion owners refused to install GPS claiming privacy rights violation due

to “limitless ability to track whereabouts.”

Court found TLC contracts with vendors limited release of data so no person

(including TLC) could use GPS data to determine location of “off-duty” taxicab.

Applying 4th Amendment case law – “no legitimate expectation of privacy” when

information readily available for public scrutiny;

Based on Knotts, no “reasonable expectation of privacy of motor vehicle travelling

on public roadway”;

Court applied “intermediate level of scrutiny” the Court concluded the TLC’s

substantial interest in requiring GPS outweighed privacy rights due to interest in

promoting taxi customer service, ridership, and passenger and driver safety.

The Philadelphia GPS Story

Philadelphia Parking Authority’s (PPA) Hospitality Initiative Program (HIP): 2005

(GPS facilitated PPA central dispatch system)

MCQ’s Enterprises v. PPA (EDPA)

Plaintiff Yellow Cab argued displacement of their dispatch system was both a

physical (alteration of cab) and regulatory taking (displacement of customer

base).

Court denied preliminary injunction as PPA rules were “for the public good…to

promote hospitality and tourism….”

Alexandre v. NYC TLC

Plaintiff also made 5th Amendment takings argument, but court ruled that

medallion owners who choose to engage in a “publicly regulated business”

surrender their rights to unfettered discretion, and the preliminary injunction was

denied.

Also, court noted, as in MCQ, the TLC’s rules were passed to “protect the public

interest.”

Privacy Legal Issues

Lessons Learned

Regulatory bodies stand on firm legal privacy ground (as

compared to criminal law enforcement and employee

monitoring)

Government regulators should clearly define use of data

and define via regulation and/or contract

Unresolved Issues

Off-duty GPS data

Use of taxi GPS data for criminal law enforcement

investigations

Passenger tolerance of privacy issues (Use irrespective of

law)

Privacy Legal Issues

Taxi Technology of the future???

Thank

You!

Q&A