Authors:
Andre Brizzi
and
Marcia Pasin
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Computação, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil
Keyword(s):
Simulation, Taxi Service, Drivers Income, Information System.
Abstract:
Taxi is an already well-established service in many cities around the world. Nowadays, the service request is mainly made through mobile applications, where the user selects the desired options, including the payment method. An information system, aware of the location of taxis, associates the closest taxi to the customer request. In general, taxi allows the user to enjoy the mobility service without being directly charged by the vehicle maintenance. The vehicle owner, who can be a company or a self-employed person (frequently the taxi driver), is the one in charge with vehicle maintenance, fuel payment, etc. However, recently the taxi service has lost much of its appeal due to competing car sharing services. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate more carefully the implementation and maintenance of taxi service in cities with regard to the drivers income. This work contributes in this way. Here, the taxi service is considered, with a standardized vehicle fleet but using different vehicle
types (electric, ethanol, gasoline and CNG). Given a demand and costs, a simulation is proposed to detail and evaluate the appropriate balance between drivers income and demand scheme to keep the service viable to the drivers. Simulation was performed in a real scenario, the city of Santa Maria in Southern Brazil. Input values in the simulation scenario (fuel price, demand, etc.) were chosen, based on literature, city hall documentation and Internet news, to make the simulation as realistic as possible. Simulation results shown that for feasible taxi service, the city town hall must define a maximum number of taxi licenses. The vehicle type has a large impact in the taxi driver’s profit. Electric vehicles have a lower cost per km driven, but still have high cost of acquisition. Finally, if the daily traveled distance increases, the difference between electric vehicles and the others decreases, making it possible electric vehicles to become more advantageous.
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