By investing in electric vehicles and advanced software, the taxi company strives for higher customer satisfaction through faster response times and a more modern, more comfortable means of transport.
While attention often focuses on major cities such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam, where the mobility transition is already well advanced, Taxicentrale Altena shows that drastic changes are also happening in provincial areas. Taxicentrale Altena from Vlissingen recently received its first fully electric Tesla. Bart Altena, director and owner of the company, emphasizes the need to keep up with the times. “Innovation and sustainability are very important for Taxicentrale Altena.”
The taxi company has been an established name in the province of Zeeland for years and also carries the flag for Taxicentrale Middelburg and Taxicentrale Vlissingen, two other entities within the same company. Taxicentrale Altena has a wide range of services, including arranging 'Crew Changes' for ships in the ports of Vlissingen and Terneuzen.
technological advantage
Yet the pursuit of innovation does not stop here. The company is one of the proud partners of Pitane Mobility, an Eindhoven software company that is currently participating in the Central Database Taxi Practical Test of the Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT). For this trial, Taxicentrale Altena is implementing the new Pitane Pallas software, a technological leap forward that can eventually replace the conventional on-board computer for taxis (BCT).
One of the goals of the ILT trial is to investigate cardless alternatives to the BCT. Pitane Pallas, which runs on an Android tablet, not only benefits taxi operators by reducing costs, but also works towards seamless integration of A&R data online. This includes refining work processes, organizational design, setting up a central database and technical interfaces for efficient data exchange with various parties, such as taxi drivers, registers of Kiwa, RDW, and Chamber of Commerce, and even the BCT Supervision Tool.
For this new approach to succeed, legal adjustments are also required, which the ministry will have to address. The project not only represents a transformation in the way Taxi center Altena operates, but can also be an example for the entire taxi industry.
Photo rights: Taxicentrale Altena
