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Starting taxi dispatch

Take a towing and repair shop from no taxi work to a live taxi and livery desk and a public booking page, in order, with the papers to obtain first.

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Taxi and livery

Checked against Pop Dispatch 0.1.0

Situation #

Your shop runs towing and repair on Pop Dispatch, and you now want to dispatch taxis or livery cars from the same system. You need the regulator's papers, the taxis and drivers, the rates and the settings, and then a public page where riders book. This playbook uses the Philadelphia rules from the research file as its example. The operator stays responsible for local rules. Confirm every point with the Philadelphia Parking Authority, Taxicab and Limousine Division (the regulator) before going live.

What keeps working #

  • Towing and repair carry on as before. Taxi adds its own screens, under Taxi in the console, and its own Taxi tab in the driver app.
  • Tow calls, repair orders, invoices and payments, the board and the tow drivers' work stay as they are.
  • Nothing you set up for taxi reaches a rider until you tick "Let riders book on the public page" in the last step.
  • Taxi is part of the Pro and Business editions. When your licence lacks it, changes to taxi records are refused with the message "Taxi is on the Pro and Business editions."

Steps in order #

  1. Get the papers (below). Start with the dispatcher certificate. The dispatcher bond has to be accepted before dispatching can start.
  2. Set mail and the public address. Whoever runs the server does this once.
    1. Save the mail settings: host, port, From address, user and password (see shared-dispatch). Mail sends the rider's booking code and the receipts.
    2. Save the public address of the server, such as https://dispatch.example.com (see public-address-and-trusted-proxies). Rider trip links start with it.
  3. Add taxis and drivers.
    1. Add each taxi as a company vehicle under Fleet, Assets, with a Unit number (the cab number riders and receipts show) and the Registration (the plate). See fleet-assets-screens. Adding assets needs a licence with the Fleet module.
    2. A taxi shows in the driver's "Choose a taxi" list when it carries taxi details: seats, wheelchair access and class. The Assets form has no field for them. When the driver sees "No company taxis are set up yet. Ask the office.", the details are missing.
    3. Add each driver as a person with a driver profile (see driver-profiles), and record the driver's documents and each taxi's documents with their expiry dates (see documents-and-expiry). An expired blocking document stops a shift and every offer.
    4. Open Taxi, then Rates and settings, then "Driver certificate numbers", and type each driver's number. It prints on receipts and in the trip log.
  4. Add the rate card, zones, flat fares and surcharges.
    1. Save your zones (see dispatch-zones), including the airport. Make the airport queue if you have one (see airport-queue).
    2. Under Rates and settings, choose "Add a meter rate" and copy the regulator's figures: Flag fall, Tenths of a mile in the flag fall, Price per tenth of a mile, Waiting per minute and Minimum fare.
    3. Add a flat fare between zones, such as the airport and the centre of the city, and the surcharges you need (see taxi-fares-and-estimates).
  5. Turn on the dispatch settings (see taxi-auto-dispatch).
    1. Check "Seconds a driver has to answer", "Offers before the desk is asked" and "Who is offered first".
    2. Keep "Offer waiting trips automatically" ticked.
    3. Leave the cancellation and no-show fees at 0.00 until the regulator approves them.
    4. Under "Records and addresses", fill in "Certificate holder" and "Complaint contact", and add an "Address lookup service" if you have one. Save.
  6. Create a test trip and run it with a test driver.
    1. Make a test driver with their own account and a test taxi. In the driver app, open the Taxi tab, choose the taxi and Start shift.
    2. On the console, open Taxi, choose New trip, and enter your own name and email, a pick-up and a drop-off with latitude and longitude. Check the estimate, and choose "Book the trip".
    3. On the driver's phone, Accept the offer, choose "I have arrived", Start trip and End trip. Pay in cash with a tip, and confirm.
    4. Check the receipt in your email.
    5. Book a second test trip and cancel it from the trip page.
    6. Test trips stay in the records and in the trip log. Write down their numbers.
  7. Publish the booking page.
    1. Under Dispatch settings, "Public booking page", tick "Let riders book on the public page" and save.
    2. Open the address shown beside "Public page address:" on a phone. Book a trip with your own email, then cancel it from the trip page.
    3. Give the address to riders.

The papers to obtain #

The list comes from the research file, read on 2026-11-01. The fee schedule is for the fiscal year 2027, from July 1, 2026. Fees do not come back, and the schedule says some fees may rise on January 1, 2027. Section numbers refer to 52 Pa. Code, with the base address https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/052/.

Dispatcher

  • Dispatcher certificate of public convenience. Issued by the regulator. Source: chapter1019 table of contents, form SA-1. Chapter 1019 has sections 1019.1 to 1019.14. A search summary of s. 1019.1 said no one may dispatch in Philadelphia without the certificate (the section page was not read directly). Application fee: $7,500. Companion forms: DSP-2 (name, colours, markings), DSP-3 (business experience), DSP-5 (rate schedule).
  • Dispatcher bond or irrevocable letter of credit. Source: s. 1019.12. Minimum $10,000, filed within 30 days of the regulator's email saying it intends to approve. Dispatching cannot start until it is accepted.
  • Monthly list of affiliated taxicabs (DSP-4). Source: s. 1019.9. Due by the first working day of each month, with cab numbers and certificate holders.
  • Approved two-way voice and data communication, an approved meter system, four phone lines and 24-hour call answering. Source: s. 1019.8. Pop Dispatch only cabs whose rights cover the service, and confirm a cab is in good standing with the regulator before dispatching it.
  • Authorization for wheelchair-accessible cabs (DSP-7). Only wheelchair dispatchers may send wheelchair-accessible cabs. A dispatcher without it must pass those requests electronically to one that holds it. The authorization expires each July 1 and renews with the annual filing.
  • Annual certificate renewal (DSP-6) and name or marking change ($350).

Taxis and drivers

  • Medallion, to operate your own medallion taxicabs. Source: chapter 1013.
  • Partial-rights taxicab certificate. Source: chapter 1015, which has only sections 1015.1 and 1015.2.
  • Taxicab driver certificate for every driver. Forms DR-1 and DR-2 (medical), after an English proficiency exam. Three test attempts within 90 days. No service before certification. Fees: $31.25 per designation, driver training $100, testing and training fee $20, duplicate certificate $25.
  • Wheelchair-accessible taxi driver certificate (form DR-4). The Drivers page states a limit of 31 applications and a one-year prior Philadelphia taxicab service requirement in place of a two-year figure in s. 1021.5a(b)(7)(i).
  • Vehicle inspections. Source: chapter 1017. Fees: regulator compliance inspection $25, state inspection $50, age or mileage compliance inspection $100, new car and replacement vehicle transfer $100, inspection rescheduling $100.
  • Safety cameras in taxicabs. Source: subchapter G of chapter 1017 and s. 1017.79. Images are kept at least 30 days at the business location of the medallion or dispatcher certificate holder.

Insurance

  • Taxicab insurance. A certificate of insurance from a Pennsylvania-authorised insurer has to be filed and approved before the certificate of public convenience issues. Source: s. 1025.3. Liability follows 75 Pa.C.S. Chapter 17, and driver first-party coverage follows 75 Pa.C.S. s. 1711. The section states no dollar amounts. Form INS-1. A self-insurance route is in s. 1025.4.
  • Limousine insurance, for livery cars. Source: s. 1065.1. Liability of at least $1,500,000, and cargo insurance does not count. It also has to meet 75 Pa.C.S. Chapter 17.

Limousines (livery)

  • Limousine certificate of public convenience. Source: chapter 1051 and chapter 1053. Fee: $7,500 for one class of service, $1,500 per additional class for new applicants, $3,000 per additional class for a current holder. Classes: luxury limousine, airport transfer, remote carriers. Replacement registration sticker: $50.
  • Limousine driver certificate. Same application route as the taxicab driver certificate. Source: chapter 1057.

Probably not needed

  • Broker registration, only if you sell or transfer rights: $1,200 new and annual renewal.
  • Transportation network company licence, only for an app-based network of private drivers: $50,000 application fee. Confirm with the regulator whether a dispatch app falls under a different category.

Questions for the regulator #

The research could not confirm these items. Ask before you rely on them.

  • Minimum medallion taxicab affiliations (s. 1019.13): a dispatcher has to stay linked to at least 20 active medallion taxicabs showing its approved name, colours and markings, and below 20 a 30-day notice precedes a complaint to cancel the certificate. Is the rule enforced or waived today, and can your own cabs count?
  • Dispatcher rate schedule (DSP-5): a search summary reported that rates are filed before serving cabs. Section 1019.10 was not read.
  • Medallion price and availability, and who may receive a new partial-rights certificate.
  • The taxicab insurance dollar minimum.
  • The vehicle age and mileage limit. A search summary mentioned 10 years and 350,000 miles.
  • Annual assessment amounts for taxicabs, limousines and dispatchers.
  • The facility inspection for dispatchers (s. 1019.5).
  • Which taxi smartphone apps and vendors are approved, and whether a dispatch product needs approval.
  • Whether the temporary-amendment sections are still in force, and whether any trip-data feed to the regulator is required.
  • Airport rules for pick-up zones, permits and fees. The research found them only on a site outside its allowed sources. The full list is in taxi-trip-log-and-compliance.

How to confirm it worked #

  • The test trip shows Completed on the trip page, with the fare, the tip and the payment.
  • The receipt reached your inbox and shows the cab number, the driver's certificate number and your complaint contact.
  • "Trip log export" gives a file in which the test trip appears with the certificate number filled in.
  • The public page opens on a phone, sends a code to your email, and books a trip that appears on the board.
  • Taxi shows "Drivers on shift" with the test driver and the right taxi while the shift runs.

Afterwards #

  1. End the test shifts. Keep the list of test trip numbers.
  2. Put a calendar reminder for the monthly DSP-4 list and for the July 1 renewals.
  3. Watch the first real week on the board. Trips marked "Needs the desk" show where an address lacks a position or drivers are short.
  4. Review the rates with the regulator's current figures each time they change.
  5. When the regulator approves cancellation or no-show fees, enter them under "Cancellation and no-show fees" (see taxi-cancel-and-no-show-fees).