iCABS - A Taxi Compliance & Inspection Mobile Application System for Irelands National Transport Authority 1

Service Type: Enterprise Mobility

Technologies: HTML5, QR, Digital Signatures,

Device: iPhone

Irelands National Transport Authority is responsible for public transport strategy, financing, licencing, promotion & provision in Ireland. The NTA are also responsible for the regulation of the small public service vehicle sector ie (i.e. taxis, hackneys and limousines). Providing a well regulated and best in class public service is very important to the NTA and they invest in smart systems to ensure very high standards in public transport service provision in Ireland.

The National Transport Authority awarded a €1.4m contract for ICT support and software development services for its business systems to opensky Data Systems in 2012. In 2013, the NTA asked opensky to analyse, design, build and support the development of a new mobile application version of their existing SPSV Mobile Management System that would contribute to efficiencies and reduce audit process time.

iCABS - A Taxi Compliance

& Inspection Mobile Application System

for Irelands National Transport Authority

iCABS - A Taxi Compliance & Inspection Mobile Application System for Irelands National Transport Authority2

The Challenges

■ Previous version was platform specific with costly implications on device choice

■ Lack of seamless realtime updates to the back end system

■ No quick search facility on previous version added time and hours to each audit process

■ Issues with loss of network connectivity needed to be addressed for the user within the app

■ UI Design needed to improve to make the app easier to use and encourage higher end user adoption

Mobilising SPSV Enforcement Officers - The Solution : iCABS

In 2013, the NTA made the decision to support their field based team of 8 enforcement officers (with ability to scale to over 20) with a new mobile version of iCABS that enabled them to process roadside vehicle audit checks of SPSV’s and issue fixed charge penalties in their “office on the go” on their mobile devices. iCABS allows enforcement officer to remotely validate and link both the taxi and driver licence details on the roadside before an audit by use of a powerful QR based search tool on their mobile device. The QR scanner on their phone scans a tamper proof licence sticker on the vehicle that speedily searches the back end system and selects the correct vehicle record. The app facilitates the performance of a scripted audit check, based on what if scenarios and to finally choose and issue a fine (if appropriate) by collecting a digital signature. openskys middle-ware layer provides a sophisticated mechanism to cater for communications between the mobile device and back-end systems in real time. Once a fine is issued, the system creates a unique case on the central database, which notes can be added to by the enforcement officer. The app uses GPS to record the location of the taxi during the audit for verification purposes. Previous to iCABS the officer carried a Book of Fines and issued paper dockets, which were sent back to head office for processing in batches. The officer can now also view audit history and assess compliance performance on the spot. Designing a night-mode version proved useful to officers and colour coding linking to similar colour schemes in the central database, enhanced speed and ease of use.

Data collected by the application can then be analysed by the NTA for performance monitoring and emerging trends in reoccurring fines, which informs decision making for improved standards in the future, using their own analytical tools.

The new I iCABS system is based on HTML5 technology due to its device platform independence and is a perfect fit into new SOA architecture. As the app is used to manage a specific work flow by a number of employees and not a consumer app, native app development was not required.

iCABS - A Taxi Compliance & Inspection Mobile Application System for Irelands National Transport Authority 3

Key Benefits:

Customisation - iCABS solution was fully customised to meet NTA requirements and it is flexible to adapt to their evolving needs.

User Friendly - Our solution simplified all audit tasks that were being handled by staff members by providing an intuitive and user friendly display and interface.

Hardware - The solution is compatible with all leading device providers, allowing the NTA a reduced cost of ownership and protecting against redundancy as device vendors change their platforms

Support - opensky’s support team provides support and maintenance to the NTA ensuring that any and all issues are resolved promptly and in accordance with our SLA.

Key Features:

UI Design – Includes back buttons, nightmode, colour change buttons based on previous actions, static sidebars when scrolling, lazy loading and phone links

Inter-operability - opensky’s Mobile Audit Management system is fully interoperable with multiple back-end systems, including SAP. Our middle-ware layer provides a sophisticated mechanism to cater for communications between the device and back-end systems, including legacy based systems.

Security – The mobile application complied with the National Transport Authority’s secure password policy including – password expire verification, password complexity levels, account lockout thresholds applying to multiple logons from the same device and reduced the dependence on VPN connections.

Device Selection – Enforcement Officers use mobile phones (Apple iPhone) to run the application, rather than tablets, as it is a more secure solution.

> iCabs is a system, delivered through an iPhone,

developed specifically for the National Transport

Authority’s Compliance Team. iCabs allows

each Compliance Officer to validate each small

public service vehicle licence (in excess of

50,000 licence entries), record all regulatory

checks, create notes on each licence and issue

Fixed Charge Penalties when required. iCabs

is the main tool of the Compliance Officer’s

work and provides an excellent system for each

officer to receive and provide up-to-the-minute

information on every licence holder. Without

iCabs, Compliance Officers would be unable to

complete their tasks efficiently <

Taxi Compliance Manager

Irelands National Transport Authority

iCABS - A Taxi Compliance & Inspection Mobile Application System for Irelands National Transport Authority4

opensky Data Systems,

Unit 8, Osprey Business Campus,

Naas, Co Kildare, Ireland.

www.openskydata.com

Further Details: William Flanagan, Chief Technology Officer,

opensky Data Systems, +35345855675

For enquiries on openskys suite of software and IT services

for the transport sector, please contact

Brendan Dunne, Sales Manager, +353 45 855675 Ext 1011

Further Enterprise Mobility Solution Case Studies -

www.openskydata.com