TRANSPORTATION
Cab Riders Can Swipe and Go
Back-Seat Devices Speed Transactions, Add Measure of Safety
Kensington cabbie Raymond Obiero watches as his passenger uses the touch-screen payment device to charge the fare to a credit card.
(By Mark Gail -- The Washington Post)
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Thursday, September 24, 2009
Taxi passengers in the Washington area can now pay for their rides using credit card machines that do more than accept money: Barwood Taxi of Kensington has installed the area's first touch-screen self-payment video devices in 200 taxis.
"Our new monitors make paying fares simple and efficient, allowing both passengers and drivers to move on with their days more quickly," said Lee Barnes, president and chief executive of Barwood.
The company plans to install the six-inch color-screen devices in all 435 of its taxis by the end of the year, he said. Similar machines, which display public service announcements and ads, debuted in New York City two years ago. Since then, taxi companies in eight other cities, including Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, have installed similar devices.
The makers of VeriFone approached Barwood, one of the region's largest taxi services, with the idea last October, Barnes said. Barwood, which serves about 210,000 passengers a month and handles approximately 1.9 million rides annually, tested the devices in April and began installing them in May. VeriFone covers the cost of the devices, and Barwood pays about $100 per installation, Barnes said.
The screens will feature videos and announcements from local agencies and nonprofit groups such as the Children's Inn at National Institutes of Health, Montgomery County public schools and the county's network of public parks. Barwood plans to begin selling advertising on the devices by the end of the year. Passengers will be able to adjust the picture and sound or turn the machines off.
Alfred LaGasse, chief executive of the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association, said Arlington County-based Red Top Cab is also looking into the monitors.
LaGasse said the machines will benefit customers and drivers. "To me, the more exciting part of the Barwood project is getting the credit card payment systems in the back seat," he said. "That is a tremendous customer service, and it enhances the safety of the drivers." He said he hopes the new systems will deter would-be robbers by decreasing the amount of cash cabbies carry.
Driver profits might also be affected. In New York during the past two years, the systems have increased tipping by 5 percent, LaGasse said.
"This is good for the drivers, the customers and the company," he said.
