Shanghai taxis to get English interpreter service

In preparation for the huge influx of foreign visitors to the 2010 World Expo, the Shanghai Daily is reporting that Shanghai taxis will be upgraded with a new dispatch system that will allow English-speaking interpreters to talk to passengers at the touch of a button. The dispatch system also includes a new and more efficient call center platform that will automatically call back a customer who books a taxi with an estimated time of arrival.

In addition, Shanghai’s existing fleet of 47,000 taxis will be augmented by 4,000 new and more spacious white General Motors and Volkswagen taxis that will specifically transport tourists to the Expo during peak hours and cruise the streets during non peak hours. The City’s 100,000 taxi drivers are also being told to dress in blue suits, white shirts and blue ties during the 6 months that the expo will run.

Shanghai’s major taxi companies Qiangsheng, Dazhong, Jinjiang and Bashi will be gradually implementing the new dispatch system in time for the expo while the new cabs will roll off the assembly line by February.