NYC Drivers and Passengers Tap Spanish Translation Technology

Creative Mobile Technologies (CMT),  a leader in innovative technology and payment processing solutions provider for the taxicab market, has launched an in-taxi Spanish-language translation technology for drivers of New York City’s new fleet of street-hail liveries (SHL), or green taxis.

The translation technology was born out of CMT’s interaction with its customers and is now driving CMT’s popularity among Spanish-speaking SHL drivers. In October, the New York’s largest association of livery drivers, ASOTINY (New York Association of Independent Taxi Drivers/Asociacion de Taxistas Independientes de New York) endorsed CMT’s system. ASOTINY represents more than 5000 livery drivers. One of the largest demographics of green taxi drivers in New York City today is Spanish-speaking.

“This is something drivers have been interested in for a long time. We believe this will be an important asset to our Spanish speaking drivers, and will facilitate both their experience and improve service to passengers,” said Fernando Garcia, President, ASOTINY.

CMT consulted with ASOTINY during the recent SHL roll-out to test how CMT’s Driver Interactive Unit could best be utilized in the vehicles. The Driver Interactive Unit is the driver’s primary tool for assisting passengers with credit and debit card payments as well as receiving messages from bases and the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC).

Currently, the bilingual driver terminal is available in approximately 350 SHLs with 10-20 installations being performed daily. All varieties of the new SHLs, including wheelchair accessible vehicles, will be equipped with the bilingual Driver Interactive Unit. This CMT technology, available nationwide, will become the standard going forward. For example, passengers have already benefitted from bilingual functions in the payment screen as per the requirements of the TLC’s Taxicab Passenger Enhancements Project (TPEP) 2.0. When the meter goes off, there is a button on the screen that a passenger can toggle for payment screen language.

Here’s how it works: a variety of commands appear in Spanish in the taxi’s state-of-the-art Driver Interactive Unit, a small multi-functional box that is installed to the right side of the steering wheel and easily viewable from the driver’s seat. It features easy-to-use buttons that correspond to various responses that appear on the screen – depending upon the action that is currently taking place in the cab.

More than 200 commands, including “end shift,” “off-duty” and “tolls,” are now available in Spanish (appearing as “fin turno,” “inactivo” and “peajes” respectively). The driver also has the ability to facilitate payment transactions by selecting the buttons that correspond to simple responses like “Si” and “No” in response to questions like “Print Passenger Receipt” or “Imprimir Recibo del Pasajero.”

Text messages from the TLC and the base can be received in Spanish and texts can be sent by drivers in Spanish via the Driver Interactive Unit. Some text messages require no responses.  Others will prompt the driver to respond using pre-set responses on the Driver Interactive Unit.

About Creative Mobile Technologies, L.L.C.
Founded in New York City in 2005 by taxi industry leaders, Creative Mobile Technologies (CMT) provides more than 20,000 taxicabs in 60 cities and 35 states with a variety of taxi technologies and enhancements including credit and debit card processing, media and advertising content, text messaging, interactive passengers maps, GPS, electronic trip sheets and back‐office fleet management systems. CMT has more than 6,900 units in New York City alone. More info at: www.creativemobiletech.com.

Category: General Update