How to start a taxi dispatch company? You need four things: a phone number with a line, software with a dispatcher workstation, people on shift, and drivers the dispatch office passes orders to. In a cloud system you don't need a separate server or an office PBX: the dispatcher takes calls right in the browser, and the order goes to the driver's app. Below is a step-by-step plan: what to prepare, how to set up telephony and the workstation, how to assign permissions and how to pay operators.
What is a taxi dispatch service?
A dispatch office is the hub that takes orders, finds cars for them and tracks how they're carried out. It can work with its own fleet, with drivers using their own cars, or serve several brands at once. Most often a taxi dispatch business is started without a fleet: drivers bring the cars, and the company earns from their payments for access to orders.
| Component | Why you need it |
|---|---|
| Phone number and line | Customers call in; the company calls back customers and drivers |
| Dispatcher workstation | Taking calls, creating orders, monitoring drivers |
| Automatic dispatch | The order goes to the right driver by itself, with no manual calling around |
| Driver app | The driver receives the order, updates statuses and sees the route |
| Fares | The price is calculated automatically and consistently for everyone |
| Cash desk and reports | Driver balances, operator pay, analytics |
How to start a taxi dispatch company: step-by-step plan
- Register the business under your country's rules.
- Choose a taxi dispatch system. A cloud system removes the question of servers and updates. Check that telephony, the workstation, order dispatch, apps and driver balance accounting all live in one system.
- Get a phone number from a VoIP provider and obtain the SIP line settings.
- Prepare workstations: a computer, a headset, stable internet. A second monitor is handy for the map.
- Configure the company: city, maps, fares, order types, stands and dispatch rules.
- Set up staff: permission groups, pay terms, user accounts.
- Sign up drivers and give them access to the app.
- Train dispatchers and run a trial shift with test orders.
- Go live and review the first call and order reports after a week.
VoIP phone system for taxi: what to set up
The phone remains the main order channel for many companies, so plan your telephony before launch.
Line and inbound routing
The company number is connected as a SIP trunk, a line to the telephone provider. For each line you specify where an incoming call goes:
- to the operator queue: the standard option;
- to a callback: the system drops the call and calls the customer back itself; you can set a pause before the callback and the number of attempts;
- to forwarding to an extension.
For each line you can specify an order type and a vehicle type. If you have a separate number, say, for cargo taxi, a call to it immediately creates an order of the right type, and the dispatcher doesn't have to choose anything.
Greeting and hold music
The customer hears a greeting right after dialing, and hold music plays until a dispatcher answers. You can upload ready-made audio files or synthesize them from text right in the system: type a phrase, listen to the result and save it.
Automatic customer notifications
When the driver arrives, nobody has to call the customer manually. You can set up an SMS or an automatic callback in which the system reads out the car's make, color and plate number. Notifications are tied to order statuses, so the customer learns that a driver has been assigned and that the car has arrived without the dispatcher's involvement.
Outbound calls
Outbound routing rules determine which line the company uses to call a customer or a driver. From the order menu the dispatcher can call the customer or connect the driver with the customer through the PBX.
Every call goes into the call log: type, line, operator, number, duration, status and the recording. This is the main tool for sorting out disputes.
The taxi dispatcher workstation
The Tonotel workstation is a single browser page where everything updates in real time, without reloading. On screen you have a softphone, the order list, stand queues and the driver list, chat with drivers and a map. The stand and map panels can be moved to a second monitor.
How an order is taken
- A customer calls and the dispatcher answers with the F2 key.
- The system looks up the customer by number and checks whether they have an open order. If there is one, it opens; if not, a new one is created with the number, order type and vehicle type already filled in based on the inbound line.
- The dispatcher enters the pickup address. The system determines the stand sector itself.
- They enter the destination. A route is built and the price is calculated by the fare.
- They add options, the payment method and a comment, and save the order with F4.
- The order goes into automatic dispatch along the chain of rules.
For a regular customer the system fills in their details, discount and bonuses right away. If a customer asks how the price was calculated, the dispatcher opens a step-by-step breakdown.
Hotkeys
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| F2 | Answer a call or create a new order |
| F3 | End the call |
| F4 | Save the order |
| Alt+1 / Alt+2 / Alt+3 | Statuses "Arrived", "En route", "Completed" |
| F9 / F10 | Current and advance orders |
| F11 / F12 | Orders with a driver and without a driver |
The keys work even when the cursor is in an input field, so an experienced dispatcher barely uses the mouse.
Managing drivers and orders
- Stand queues. The dispatcher sees who is in which sector and can move a driver with the mouse (if they have permission).
- Right-click order menu. Call the customer, connect the driver with the customer, broadcast the order, repeat the order, send the customer an SMS or a callback.
- Chat with drivers. A message to a specific driver or to everyone, plus questions with preset answers: the driver replies with one tap.
- Panic button. If a driver presses SOS in the app, the dispatcher gets an alert with a sound signal.
- Surcharges. A dispatcher with the right permission can manually switch on a preconfigured surcharge, for example in bad weather.
The team: roles, permissions and security
Even in a small dispatch office, it's worth separating permissions from the start.
| Role | What they usually have access to |
|---|---|
| Dispatcher | Workstation: taking calls and orders |
| Shift supervisor | Workstation, managing queues, surcharges and driver suspensions |
| Accountant | Cash desk for drivers and staff, reports |
| Administrator | Company settings, fares, drivers, users |
In the system, permissions are grouped, and a staff member can be assigned several groups. The workstation has separate fine-grained permissions: editing addresses and routes on the map, managing the stand queue, surcharges, suspensions, assigning a driver, managing driver shifts, and the customer blacklist.
Security:
- restricting access to specific IP addresses for a staff group;
- two-factor authentication, which staff members enable in their profile;
- an event log showing who changed what.
Dispatcher shifts
The workstation can only be used with an open shift. A shift is opened and closed as a separate action, and the orders an operator creates are tied to it. You can't use one account on two computers at the same time, so every dispatcher needs their own login.
Can a dispatcher work remotely?
Yes. The Tonotel dispatcher workstation opens in a browser, and the phone is built right into the page: the softphone is enabled in the staff member's profile, and no separate program or office PBX is needed. So a remote taxi dispatcher can work from anywhere, including from home, as long as they have:
- a computer with a modern browser;
- a headset with a microphone;
- stable internet;
- their own account and an open shift.
Things to keep in mind:
- Network changes. When the workstation opens, the system itself authorizes the dispatcher's IP address on the phone server. If they switch, for example, from home broadband to mobile data, the page has to be reloaded or the softphone will stop working.
- IP restrictions. For a staff group you can allow logins only from specific addresses. Masks and subnets aren't supported, so this works for a home-based dispatcher only if their connection has a static address.
- Two-factor authentication. The staff member enables it in their profile, and logging in requires a code from an app on their phone.
- Oversight. Calls go into the call log with recordings, and orders are tied to the operator's shift, so a remote dispatcher's work is just as visible as in the office.
Taxi dispatcher pay
In the system each staff member has work terms under which pay is credited automatically:
| Scheme | How it's calculated |
|---|---|
| Per order | A fixed amount and/or percentage for each order the operator creates; you choose the trigger: when the order is created or completed |
| Per shift | A flat amount when the shift closes, or pay with a threshold based on the number or value of orders in the shift |
| Bonus on total revenue | A share of all the company's completed orders during the shift |
| Recurring payments | Monthly and weekly credits on a set day |
Per-order pay only applies to orders the operator created personally. Orders from the passenger app are not credited to the operator.
Illustrative example: a flat 300 units per shift plus 2 units for each completed order created by the dispatcher. With 80 orders per shift, the dispatcher is credited 460 units. The figures are illustrative.
How many dispatchers you need
There's no fixed standard, but you can work it out:
- Take the number of calls in the busiest hour.
- Multiply by the average time to take an order, in minutes.
- Divide by 45–50 working minutes per hour per dispatcher (leaving room for breaks and difficult calls).
Illustrative example: 60 calls in the peak hour at 1.5 minutes each is 90 minutes of talk time. Divided by 45, that's 2 dispatchers at peak. At night one may be enough.
If there are more calls than the team can handle, there are two solutions: enable callback on some lines, and move regular customers to the passenger app. Every app order is one fewer call.
What does a taxi dispatcher do?
The dispatcher makes sure every order finds a car and is completed without a hitch. The main taxi dispatcher duties:
- take calls and create orders quickly: pickup and destination addresses, options, payment method;
- tell the customer the price and explain how it was calculated;
- make sure orders are dispatched, and assign a driver manually if the automation couldn't find a car;
- monitor advance orders and orders without a driver;
- manage stand queues, if the dispatcher has permission;
- answer driver messages and respond to the panic button;
- call customers back and connect them with the driver when there are questions about an order;
- record complaints and disputes so they can be reviewed using the call log.
A taxi dispatcher's shift routine
- Open the shift and check that the connection indicator is green.
- Check the stand queues and the number of drivers online.
- Review advance orders for the next few hours.
- Throughout the shift, keep an eye on orders without a driver (F12).
- Answer driver messages and alarm signals.
- Before leaving, hand over unresolved issues to the next shift.
- Close the shift. Simply closing the browser tab doesn't close it.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to start a taxi dispatch company?
A registered business, a phone number and a line (SIP trunk), software with a dispatcher workstation, computers with headsets and a stable internet connection, dispatchers, signed-up drivers and fares. A separate office PBX isn't required: in a cloud system the phone works right in the browser.
Can I run a taxi dispatch service from home?
Yes, if the software is cloud-based and runs in the browser. A dispatcher needs a computer, a headset and a stable internet connection. For security you can restrict staff access to specific IP addresses and enable two-factor authentication.
How many dispatchers does a taxi company need?
It depends on the number of calls in the peak hour and the average time it takes to take an order. Work out how many minutes of calls fall into the peak hour and divide by one dispatcher's working minutes, leaving room for breaks. The more orders come through the app, the lighter the load on dispatchers.
How are taxi dispatchers paid?
Common options are a flat rate per shift, a percentage or fixed amount per order taken, or a combination. In the system you can pay an operator for orders created during their shift, for the shift itself with a threshold based on the number or value of orders, and set up monthly and weekly payments.
How do you distribute calls between several dispatchers?
An incoming call goes to the operator queue and by default rings all available dispatchers at once; the first to pick up takes it. You can configure different behavior for different numbers: operator queue, callback or forwarding to an extension.
Summary
Today you can start a taxi dispatch company without a server room or an office PBX: a cloud system, a SIP number and a trained team are enough. First set up telephony and call routing, then fares and dispatch, and after that permissions and operator pay. Run a trial shift and only then go live. Tonotel combines telephony, the dispatcher workstation, apps and reports in one system, so your dispatch office can be up and running right after the initial setup.