>>>I'm developing software for a cab company. I have two questions:
>>>
>>>1) is it possible to integrate google map in vfp app?
>>>2) is it possible to locate driver (gps coordinates or a address) based on a gps location of a his cell phone?
>>>2a) if answer for 2) is yes, is it possible to determine driver position on a google map?
>>>
>>>Thanks in advance.
>>
>>What you ask for is something every haulage company is doing those days. (at least in areas where mobile network is dense enough)
>>
>>There might be legal problems because this could be called spying under some jurisdications
>>
>>Works only if the mobile has some way to post the coordinates to you. -> Internet -> SMS
>>
>>lon /lat on google is as easy as https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=44.873889,20.651944. On can automate that (at least I have heard of, never done) so that one can see every traced thing on a map moving.
>>
>>I'm not shure if google allows that on a business level. I know that google limits the "download" of map parts for a day. So possibly you have to spend some money.
>
>At least one taxicab company in my little town has this - they know exactly where each of their cars is at any time. And they're operating on a very thin margin (the competition is severe, there's at least six companies like that in the city of no more than 70K people; the average distance is about 4km and the fare is about 1,50€). They use it mainly to know which car is the nearest, to cut down on driving empty.
>
>And I seriously doubt that they have their own GPS capable network. They have the regular radio and I think that radio simply carries the GPS coordinates from the unit in the car - i.e. the cars are broadcasting their position. Involving any mobile telephony service in that would not be possible at these prices.

It's a number one thing to watch employees. Truckers are reported now to urinate into a bottle because the boss will complain if they do a stop for that. We had ugly car accidents because of that.

I do not know how cell pohne rates with internet (SMS, for that) flat are at your place, but this is not a thing here. A prepaid rate is nothing, and it's not much data. And almost everybody owns one.

To use it via radio would require something to translate GPS read out to radio and re read to comp. It's possible - but in my thinking this is a luxury. I mean you would need to pay somebody for it too - and this is not a mass market. :)

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