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GPS tracking system that never took off

Source: The New Straits Times Publication date: 2000-06-07

NOT too long ago, there were ambitious plans to fit the fleet of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) limousines plying the KLIA Sepang route with a global positioning system (GPS) utilising the Measat satellite.

Signified by the white, dome-shaped cap fitted on the top of many KLIA limousines, the seemingly extravagant Limo Net tracking system was touted to boost the efficiency of airport passenger pick-ups via control at a central office.

Through the system, it would had been possible to track down all of the limousines through satellite and relay instructions to the chauffeurs via the data terminal equipped in each car.

Reflecting the optimism of the project was the comments from a top Airport Limo official, "This is a very sophisticated system and we are sure it will be very successful in the future".

But today, it is clear that the "sophisticated system" that was supposed to make the KLIA limousine service a class more superior than any public transport provided, never took flight at all.

Random checks with several limousine drivers indicated that they were just in the dark as the rest of the public. But their replies, together with the minimal feedback from Airport Limo reveals that technical glitches resulted in the project being aborted while it was still during the testing stage. "There was once when the GPS system was not able to detect that a limousine actually made a trip to Kuantan. It only showed the vehicle's location until Johor," says a Proton Wira driver who requested to stay anonymous.

Although the drivers interviewed admitted that they initially went through some training to use the GPS system, the fever quickly died down due to the system's lack of use.

As the GPS system was "abandoned" some six months after its lavish annoucements, some drivers took the liberty to remove the white, fibre glass domes from their vehicle roofs.

"I forked out my own money to remove that `cap' as I found it ugly and useless. So far, nobody has said anything," says another driver when asked about his `missing' GPS equipment were.

Meanwhile, queries to Airport Limo Sdn Bhd have gone unanswered.

Apparently, after the long silence since Limo Net was publicly announced some 20 months ago, the company is now turning to another new system. But perhaps it would be better if nothing is written about it yet before anything materialises.

http://realcities.yellowbrix.com/pages/realcities/Story.nsp?story_id=11068372&site=charlotte&ID=realcities&scategory=Computers%3AY2K

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), June 07, 2000