More than 5,000 cabs in the capital are being installed with global positioning systems (GPS) to help improve services, the Beijing Traffic Bureau has announced.

The move will be the city's first, large-scale GPS operation and aims to improve the efficiency of taxis by notifying drivers about traffic problems and service demand, according to bureau officials.

It is believed that the new devices will also cut down on the number of taxis that are vacant by around 30 percent.

The capital now has some 68,000 cabs.

The new device should also bring more convenience for residents living in the city's suburbs, where fewer taxis operate. Residents requiring a taxi will in the future be able to call a taxi through the GPS network at the Beijing Municipal Taxi Network Control Center, which was jointly launched earlier this month, said Jinjian taxi company, one of the city's GPS initiators.

A huge electronic screen that has been set up in the center, in the southern part of the city, shows the location of hundreds of taxis which have GPS devices installed, thus making it easier for customers to locate a cab.

The application was initiated by Jinjian and Yinjian taxi companies earlier this month, with the support of the municipal government.

So far, only a few dozen taxis in the company have been installed with GPS devices, said Yinjian company.

Whether the application will be further used and expanded to other areas in the country largely depends on the results of the first 5,000 taxis that are installed with the device by the end of the year, said a spokesman for Yinjian company, who also said that a further schedule is already being discussed.

If all goes well, a further 5,000 cabs will be installed with GPS next March.

(China Daily December 17, 2001)