New Taxi Meters Being Tested in Panama City

alt(Panama-Guide) - Panama America -  Starting today, three taxi cabs in Panama City will be using a new taxi meter to determine what should be charged, based on the distance traveled and the time elapsed. These first units are part of a pilot plan being promoted by the National Taxi Union of Panama. They hope that by using these taxi meters they will be able to better regulate the private transportation service, as well as to provide greater safety for passengers and drivers. This will be possible because the cars will be equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS), which will always monitor the position of the vehicle. According to Rafael Reyes, the President of the taxi union, last Monday a group of businessmen from Ecuador and Argentina arrived who are responsible for performing the implementation of the new systems and field testing. Reyes explained that the taxi meters have been adjusted to charge fees that are equivalent to the current rates.

Queries - Reyes said there will be consultations with both drivers and passengers during this testing period for the new taxi meters. He also noted that during this testing period, the passengers will have the final say in deciding whether or not they want the fare to be determined by the newly installed meters. Today the taxi drivers will be performing a system test with the authorities of the Transit Authority.
 
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Original source: Panama-Guide.com
Date Retrieved: January 29, 2011.