Taxi emergency and location system for metropolitan Toronto

Recent advances in computer and communications technologies have fostered significant developments in mobile information systems, not only to locate vehicles in distress situations but also to permit central monitoring of their positions for management purposes. This paper will focus on investigations carried out by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario on Emergency Location Systems with the prime objective to identify a functional and cost-effective solution for Metropolitan Toronto's taxi operations and other municipal fleets and to investigate as well, opportunities to enhance vehicle dispatching and real-time traffic data collection, using the location system's communications infrastructure. The approach taken was to investigate existing and upcoming commercial systems, evaluate them and recommend the appropriate course of action. The outcome of the study is a list of systems recommended for further investigations and small-scale demonstrations.