b'64 SAN PASSENGER TRANSPORT Digital Taxi Dispatching at San Diego IntlFrees Up Land, Reduces Traffic CongestionBY KEN WYSOCKYAirport operators short on usable real estate might wantThe new dispatch strategy, from GateKeeper Systems, alsoto check out whats happening at San Diego Internationalhas virtually eliminated traffic backups that plagued SAN when(SAN), an airport that is boxed in by both land andtoo many of its 370 registered taxi drivers converged on the airport water. Using a digital system to dispatch taxis has allowed SAN toat once.significantly decrease the land needed for its taxi hold lot and freedThe lot couldnt fit all the taxis choosing to operate at one up valuable space for other uses.time, Anderson recalls. On peak days, wed have taxi drivers who Weve had about 75% decrease in holdwanted to enter the lot, but couldnt, so traffic would back up onto lot usage, reports Mike Anderson, managerthe entry roadways.of ground transportation at SAN, a 661-acreWe cant have that happen, so wed immediately dispatch traffic airport with precious little space. He credits theenforcement to divert those drivers elsewhere, he adds. But then significant shift to an app-based system SANthey couldnt get into the queue.implemented in mid-January for $25,000.MIKE ANDERSON With the airports new digital system, taxi operators can get The eDispatch system allowed us to moveplaced into the virtual dispatch queue without driving into the our taxi operation from our existing lot, which had a capacity ofairport lot. This allows them to continue earning off-site fares while 275 vehicles, down to a lot with 70 positions, Anderson explains.waiting for their respective turns at SANand reduces associated This is important to us, given the limited space we have and havecongestion in the hold lot and on airport roadways.access to, being in a downtown environment.May | June 2022AirportImprovement.com'