Halifax taxi companies take steps to boost passenger confidence

Some Halifax taxi companies are hoping to roll out new safety measures and hardware ahead of the busy summer tourist season.

On Tuesday, Casino Taxihighlighted some of the steps it's taking to try to alleviate any concerns or worries of people hesitant to call a cab in light of former taxi driverBassam Al-Rawi'ssexual assault trial andacquittal.

Ahead of the summer season the company wants each of its 400 drivers to watch new training videos to brush up on how to interact with customers and expectations of professional.

Safety top priority

"We're a huge female family business and we don't want people to feel like, 'oh, I'm going to take a cab but I'm worried,' or 'I'm concerned,'" said Angie Herman, one of the owners of Casino Taxi.

"We want people to know that we understand how they're feeling and we are doing everything that we can to make sure that they are safe."

The company said all of its vehicles are already equipped with GPS, which can be helpful to customers who may have left something in a cab and can't remember the light number.

Top technology

"We can data mine our technology and find out definitively who you were with and which cab you were in and our drivers know that and they know that we have that tracking ability."

The Casino Taxi App is also getting upgraded regularly, Herman said, with details about the cab number given in the pickup confirmation receipt.

In additional to technology upgrades, Herman said there are also ongoing discussions with the municipality regarding bylaws and the idea of putting cameras in taxis.

Better GPS coming

Another local company, Yellow Cab, is already making plans to install brand new GPS systems in all 200 of its fleet vehicles.

"We'll have the ability to live GPS, track every single call as it's currently going on," said Justin Ghosn, CEO and director of Yellow Cab.

Before drivers get signed off with the new equipment, which Ghosnsaid should be all installed in the next two months, he said they will need to make sure their name, address, phone number and vehicle description is up to date and on file.

Reviewing protocols

Yellow Cab, Ghosn said, is also close to implementing driver criminal record checks.

"We are constantly looking and reviewing our protocols and our safety protocols. We're going to take into consideration all the consumer feedback we've heard with ournext round of protocols," Ghosn said.

Both Yellow Cab and Casino Taxi said plans to improve safety were in the works before the Bassam Al-Rawi trial. Each said the case did not hurt their business.

"People are actually coming to a company like Yellow Cab now because it's a trusted name. Instead of walking down the street and jumping in any ... taxi, people recognize a name like Yellow Cab that's been in the city for 50 years and they trust it," Ghosn said.

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