Dispatch built by a dispatcher
AI-powered taxi dispatch software, built around on-time pickups for customers and fair work for drivers.
In development. The core dispatch system is due in Q1 2027.
Why I built Athena
I'm Gareth, known as Big Gaz to most people in the trade. I've spent years on the dispatch side of the taxi business, in the North East of England and in Northern Ireland, with heavy hands-on experience of both Autocab and iCabbi.
Before I built Athena, I spent years in IT: web design, SEO, PC repairs and more. So I know the trade from the dispatch desk, and I can build the software myself. I've been building Athena for over a year now, and it's in its final stages.
I got fed up with software that doesn't work the way a dispatcher thinks and a taxi driver behaves, so I built my own. It's called Athena Dispatch.
Two beliefs sit behind every decision in it.
Pick customers up on time and get them where they need to be safely, for a fair price.
Maximise the potential profits of each driver fairly.
How a job gets allocated
AI and a Jonker-Volgenant algorithm work together to maximise dispatch efficiency. It doesn't just react to the next job. It plans ahead and looks at the whole picture. This is what happens to every job.
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Job in
A booking comes in and is ready to be matched.
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Eligibility
Vehicle type, wheelchair access and driver preferences and more are checked first.
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Scoring
Cars are scored on how soon they can reach the customer (ETA, not just distance), job priority, how fairly work has been shared, and who is about to finish a job.
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Matching
Jonker-Volgenant, a proven assignment method, matches all waiting jobs at once, not one at a time. It considers cars that are free now and cars about to clear a job, so the best car gets the job even if it isn't free yet.
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Dispatcher
Your dispatcher can step in at any point. They should only be needed for extreme edge cases.
The aim is simple: the right car, on time, with work shared fairly between drivers.
Built differently
Most dispatch systems still run on fixed rules and zones, with a dispatcher making the real decisions. Athena was built the other way round. AI inference runs through the whole system, from allocation to every module around it, with real-time, intelligent responses built in from the start.
At launch it is fully automated. Your dispatchers can intervene at any time.
What you get
Operators
Your dispatchers are freed up to look after what matters: giving customers and drivers the best service. The system handles the allocation. Your dispatchers step in only for the odd edge case, so you stay in control.
Drivers
Work is shared fairly, because drivers pay equal rent. Jobs are matched with a view to reducing dead miles, so more of each shift is spent earning, and each driver's earning potential is maximised fairly.
Customers
Genuine ETAs they can rely on, picked up on time and taken safely to where they need to be, for a fair price.
What the platform covers
- Routing and geolocation
- Full routing and geolocation using Google Maps and OSM.
- Live tracking
- Customers follow their car in the app, or through a tracking link if they don't use the app.
- Fares and payments
- Fare calculation, with tap to pay by card or payment in the app.
- Account and corporate customers
- App and online account management, where customers can download invoices and manage their bookings.
- Multi-fleet
- Pass jobs between fleets, for operators who run more than one.
- Reporting, compliance and accounting
- Backend tools for operators and drivers.
- Fallback mode
- If the server goes down, dispatch carries on.
Current timeline
Not live yet.
Here is what's being built and roughly when. The platform is one dispatch system with a driver app, a customer app and booking by SMS, WhatsApp, email and AI voice around it.
- Q1 2027 Core AI dispatch system In development
- Q1 2027 Driver app and customer app In development
- Q1 2027 SMS and WhatsApp booking In development
- Q1 2027 Email parser In development
- 2027 AI voice booking Planned
AI voice booking runs on its own GPU server. I'd rather buy the hardware than rent: spec it properly, keep running costs down, and spread the cost over time, which works out far cheaper than renting.
Working together
I'm looking for a few taxi operators who'd like to work with me on Athena Dispatch. If anyone wants a stake in where it goes, I'm open to that conversation too.
No pressure either way. If it's of interest, send me a message or give me a ring and we'll have a chat. If not, no hard feelings.