City of Chicago
Overview
Chicago is the second largest taxi market in the United States. Taxis are a vital part of the transportation infrastructure. In the 1990's, partitions had been mandated in Chicago in an attempt to reduce the level of taxi crime and also to ensure that the City's policy of requiring taxis to serve all areas of the city (even the more violent ones) could be fairly implemented. The proven effectiveness of in-vehicle cameras (as both a deterrent and a source of vital evidence for Police investigating crimes against taxidrivers) plus the need to encourage the use of smaller, greener taxis led the City to evaluate and approve the use of in-vehicle cameras in 2007.
The Challenge
Provide an in-vehicle safety camera that was both effective and affordable, despite the fact that the number of cameras being purchased and installed would be relatively low. Ensure that the images from the optional road-view cameras, that had been requested by the taxi industry for the purposes of reducing insurance premiums, could be viewed by authorized taxi dispatch company personnel, without allowing access to images of passengers within the vehicle.
The Solution
The VerifEye TaxiCam with integrated dual camera head and 1GB of memory met all aspects of the City of Chicago specification and was approved. A special Viewer was developed that would limit taxi dispatch company access privileges to only the road-view images; the standard Viewer, available to the Police and authorized City personnel, was able to access all images. VerifEye worked closely with its three authorized installation shops to ensure that the cost of the product and the installation cost were affordable, despite the initially low quantities being purchased. As word of the effectiveness of the cameras spread, and the many advantages that the cameras possessed over the partition option became apparent, sales began to accelerate until, in the summer of 2008, cameras were being chosen as the preferred safety device in 75% of all cases where an existing taxi was being replaced with a new vehicle.
Download PDF