Here’s our quick look at the MeterOn by SPAD – an app for passengers of taxis and hired cars

The Land Public Transport Commission (Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat, or SPAD for short) recently announced its latest initiative to keep a tab on our taxis drivers. The MeterOn app allows passengers to perform driver verification, track journey, estimate fare, and send SOS alerts.

The app is the front-end of a database system with details of drivers, their cars, and users’ feedbacks on them. The system is supposed to contain information of all Malaysian registered licensed taxis, airport taxis, and hired cars, but I’m not sure about the last bit. I was not able to locate 2 of the GrabCar drivers that I’ve used recently and makes me wonder if all the hired car services have been registered. I also don’t think that Uber services will be included as it’s not recognised/included in SPAD’s list of Taxi Booking Apps.

Moving on to MeterOn itself, the app launches with a quick tutorial to get users accustomed to the functions and features. Users can go through all 7 pages of the tutorial or skip them entirely at any time using the ‘Get Started’ button at the bottom of each page. These pages can also be launched later using the ‘TUTORIAL’ button found on the first tab (of which there are a total of 3). The tabs are named ‘VERIFY’, ‘JOURNEY’, and ‘PROFILE’, with each having different sets of features, serving different purposes on their own, but will all come together when the user starts tracking a ride.

When users hail down or book a ride, they will have to enter the vehicle registration number in the search field on the ‘VERIFY’ tab, press the search icon, and information will show up about the driver (or drivers, if the particular vehicle has more than one). The app will provide the name(s) of the driver(s), the driving permit number(s), the expiration date of the permit(s), as well as another separate option to report if the driver information is not found. Using the verification feature, users have the option to not go on that ride if the taxi is being driven by an unauthorised person, or if the details are not up to speed. Once the driver information checks out, users can then press the blue button (corresponding to the driver), and then activate the ride tracking feature.

Once the ride tracking starts, users will be brought to the next step which is the ‘JOURNEY’ tab. Here the user will find options to set ‘Origin’ and ‘Destination’, information on the driver and vehicle, and a map at the bottom. When tracking is in progress, users will also be able to move MeterOn to the background and continue/start using other apps. The ‘Origin’ and ‘Destination’ info can be set-up before even getting a cab and this will allow MeterOn to provide a rough estimation of the fare as well as the distance (found in the ‘Estimates’ overlay just to the top of the map). Users can also click on the ‘Info’ button found on the overlay to get a detailed breakdown for the current ride as well as for other types of vehicles, locations, and surcharges. Once users reach their destination, they will need to press the ‘END’ button at the top right to terminate the tracking. If the user has already logged in with an account, the post-ride survey will pop-up. The ‘Rate Your Driver’ window allows users to add from 1 to 5 star rating but more importantly, as the app’s name would suggest, to confirm if the meter was turned on. There’s also an option to dismiss the survey, if required. If the user has not logged in with an account, an additional window will pop-up first to allow users to ‘Enter Contact Details’ or to ‘Use Anonymously’. The latter will bring up the same ratings windows. Once the survey has been submitted or dismissed, the details of the last ride will remain on the ‘JOURNEY’ tab, until the user starts a new ride.

The last tab on the app is called ‘PROFILE’. This is where users can create a profile using the ‘LOGIN’ button, and add contacts. The login requires a name, an email address (for verification) and a phone number to register for a new account; users who have previously registered can proceed directly to login using the ‘Already have an account?’ option. Once the new account is created, MeterOn will send a confirmation email with a User ID, a temporary password, and a link (valid for 30 days). These can be used on the MeterOn profile page to update/change, first the password, and then the personal information. I’m not sure how this profile helps (apart from giving SPAD options to contact the user) as it’s not actually necessary to use the app; access is not restricted to any of the features and functionalities of the app without a profile. Moreover, users will still get to submit driver feedbacks anonymously. The ‘Add Contact’ button on the ‘Profile’ tab will bring up the phone’s default contact list, from which the user can select and add to the MeterOn contact list. Contacts added to the ‘PROFILE’ tab can be used when users need to make a call/send SMS quickly during a ride. The app did not restrict the number of contacts allowed and I was able to go up to 20 before I gave up. Deleting them was a headache though as I can only delete one contact at a time, so one might want to think twice before testing the limits.

Going back to drive tracking, users will be able to see two additional buttons floating on top of the maps section when the feature is activated. First on the left will be the ‘Emergency Assistance’ button, and on to the right will be the ‘Share Trip Details’ button.

• The emergency option contains shortcut buttons to call the Royal Malaysian Police (999), SPAD (using their toll free number), and for medical emergencies (also the same 999). Users also have the option to call their primary contact person (the first person added to the contact list), or send an emergency text message to all the pre-defined contacts (with no options to choose).

 

• The sharing option on the other hand allows users to use SMS to share details of the ride, such as the type of vehicle, vehicle registration number, driver name, the GPS coordinates of both to and from, as well as the name of the destination, to selected contact(s). The call button is here as well and provides the same option of instantly calling the first-added contact.

 

MeterOn is available for free now on iOS (requires iOS 7.1 and up) and Android (requires at least Android 4.0.3). The app can be used in either Bahasa Malaysia or English but this is determined by the default language of the smartphone. Ride tracking consumes more battery as GPS will be used continuously, and tracking will occur till battery runs flat, at which point the last location of the passenger will be saved. Fare estimates are for taxi class including Budget, TEKSIM, and Executive, as well as Hired Cars. Fares for Airport Taxis are not included in the calculations as these are based on zones and the rates will be published at the corresponding terminal. The rates calculations are meant to give a rough idea when trying to dispute or to report-on the rates provided by the meter. The actual fares depend on the routes taken by a driver. The rates are calculated based on the new SPAD-approved taxi rates and fares, as of 19th March 2015. Users can provide feedbacks on drivers or app via email to the MeterOn-SPAD team, or if for the app alone, a comment on the respective application stores. For further info on the app, please visit the MeterOn FAQ page.

All driver related complaints submitted via MeterOn app will be handled by SPAD’s Complaints Unit. SPAD verifies that all submissions received are confidential, and the team will carry out investigations, followed up with actions, where necessary. Submission of a complaint also requires proof and it may be in the form of an image, audio or video recordings. The app will allow attachments uploads of up to 10 MB in file size for any of the formats. The submitted proof should show clearly the actions of the misbehaving drivers and of their misconduct.

On a personal note, the MeterOn app is exactly what we need to monitor errant drivers, and to allow passengers to file complaints in a fast and efficient manner. The ratings system will also encourage the drivers to take a better approach when transporting passengers. The one small thing that irked me though was the registration process. Among the many other info that was asked of me, I was also required to input my race (required, as in a must have detail, to which I can’t opt-out). In this day and age, it is quite unacceptable that a person’s race is a must-have option in a service that doesn’t necessarily require that data to function.

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