But there are other numbers people in Nova Scotia’s capital city should start to associate with Casino Taxi. Like the 425 self-employed drivers from 32 countries under Casino Taxi dispatch who made nearly two million trips in 2016. That’s approximately 3.5 million annual passenger interactions. That’s 1.8 million telephone calls handled annually which equates to an average of 3.4 telephone calls handled per minute each and every minute of the year. For a small business, thenumbers are staggering. Over Halloween weekend alone, the 30 full-time staff at Casino Taxi’s customer service and dispatch centre collectively processed over 21,000 orders. “Each year our dispatch system, Mobile Knowledge, automatically processes 124 million messages between our driver’s vehicles and our server.” “Each year our dispatch system, hosted by Mobile Knowledge, automatically processes 124 million messages between our driver’s vehicles and our server, of which about 20 million are GPS hits coming back from the car, which report each 300 meters travelled, or any time there is an event, like when a driver arrives at a pickup location,” Brian explained to me in hushed tones as we maneuvered our way past the call- takers. “The way we actually dispatch is by sectioning the city into a zone grid. Our mapping system here at the dispatch centre knows these zones by number. If one of the dispatchers were to type in where we are right now at 3558 NovaLea Drive, it would show up as Zone One in the system and show the location on Google Maps. The system then gives the dispatcher a list of drivers and their location in Zone One based on GPS coordinates. After electronically confirming when they enter the zone,
Bright future We’re putting the best fleet forward A proud third generation family business since 1928, Casino Taxi Limited boasts the largest fleet of independently owned and operated taxis in Atlantic Canada. With a commitment to delivering quality service, Casino Taxi has earned a reputation as the leading taxi service provider in Halifax, Nova Scotia, completing more than 1.8 million taxi trips per year. Collins Barrow will be there to support and strategize Casino Taxi’s growth – wherever business takes them – just as we have been since 2010. With offices from coast to coast, our audit, tax and business advisory professionals stand ready to work closely with you to develop optimal solutions to meet all your business needs. Drive clarity forward. Call Collins Barrow today.
Collins Barrow Nova Scotia Inc. 120 Eileen Stubbs Avenue Suite 101 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia 902.404.4000 infoNS@collinsbarrow.com
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2017-01-18 11:26 AM
By David MacDonald T here are two numbers people in Halifax immediately associate with Casino Taxi: 429-6666 and 425-6666. But they don’t read them monosyllabically. They sing them in a bouncy metre. Every time. In the 1980s, Casino Taxi made an indelible mark on the fabric of Halifax’s modern culture with a catchy contest-driven jingle featured in a local TV ad that made those seven numbers so much more than digits on a touchtone phone. They became – and remain – lyrics to a kind of local anthem that is not often heard in the era of E-commerce.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2017
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