TAIPEI - Although snagging a taxi during rush hour is often a trying experience, taxi companies in Taiwan have been upgrading their cabs with GPS (Global Positioning System) devices in recent years, helping cabbies to rake in more cash and making it easier for passengers to get a ride during heavy traffic.

Tang Li-wu, a manager at Taiwan Taxi, one of the island's larger taxi companies, said the company currently has over 12,000 affiliated drivers, making it the largest company on the island to offer GPS dispatch services.

Tang said all of the company's taxis are equipped with GPS dispatch devices, transmitting locational data from the taxis to the company's dispatch center every three seconds. When a customer calls the center to ask for a taxi, a message is automatically sent to drivers located in the client's vicinity. A driver then confirms the dispatch center's request and picks up the client.

There are currently 20 companies offering GPS dispatch services in Taiwan.

A taxi driver surnamed Yu said that business has become more competitive in Taiwan, as the island's public transit system has become more fully developed and the taxi industry has become crowded with drivers due to the ease of getting a license.

Jason Chang, a professor of civil engineering at Taiwan University, said GPS services have reduced the amount of time taxis spend waiting for customers, allowing the drivers to handle more clients and bring in more money.

For passengers, GPS services have made it safer and more convenient to take taxis, Chang said.

"An increasing number of drivers have joined GPS dispatch companies. We can make more money while working the same amount of hours," said Situ Nanda, a taxi driver from Taipei.