Proposal:Taxi request
| taxi request | |
|---|---|
| Proposal status: | Draft (under way) |
| Proposed by: | Hike&Map |
| Tagging: | amenity=taxi |
| Applies to: | node |
| Definition: | Identify a light next to the road as taxi request/hailing light |
| Draft started: | 2021-10-16 |
Proposed new tag usage: taxi_request
Note - it came to my understanding maybe moving this to man_made? Let me know what you think
Note as of Jan 3 2023 - I'm in agreement with https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Kovposch in the discussion section what he proposed. Sounds reasonable to me. Let me know what others think please. Even if this is not very common - it's a valid physical reality object on the ground and thus should have a valid mapping/tagging scheme.
Rationale
The situation: some hotels in a variety of countries have a small light at the road-side of their hotel or sometimes a bit in advance or near a main road that flashes on if there's demand for a taxi.
Guests are waiting in the lobby waiting for a ride.
Some countries use a porter blowing a whistle - yet this isn't always practical hence the use of a light.
The countries I know these lights exists and being used are at least the USA and the Philippines - yet I do remember seeing this in other countries too - though I couldn't specifically remember them at the time of this writing.
Add Jan 3 2023 - while mapping in Kota Kinabalu - Malaysia - I found another such light by sheer coincidence. So now I have proof of existence in Philippines, USA, Malaysia. The location is at the entrance in front of the Hotel Promenade, Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens, Kota Kinabalu. Next to a shelter/weather waiting shed - there's the yellow light request for taxi
This tag will be informative to any road user. While driving - especially in a dark area and then there's a light along the road popping up might confuse drivers. Although this situation isn't common I agree - it is worth it to have road users and navigation software able to inform the driver what he's seeing and it's just a common light for taxis not like a bicycle/pedestrian or whatever coming towards him the wrong side of the road.
Proposal
As a solution, I'd like to propose to simply place a node in OSM with the following tagging scheme, example:
| Key | Value | Element | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| amenity | taxi | 
|
Required if the traffic light is mapped as separate node |
| name | * Taxi Request |
|
Required, for instance: Le Monet Hotel Taxi Request |
| request_stop:light | yes |
|
Required |
Applies to
Rendering
Display a "highlighted" taxi_request light? We find them in cities like NY but like I said also in other countries .. just any simple icon really. Whoever reads this and has a better idea - by all means share you thoughts.
Example what specifically I mean
https://flickr.com/photos/hogophotony/7135510019
https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2020/05/11/the-unused-unlit-taxi-signs-across-manhattan/
https://www.google.com/maps/@5.9756601,116.0686138,3a,85.9y,140.25h,72.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sr0nbO31-ZkheMajaIQsCJA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
https://kartaview.org/details/7168361/27/track-info
They're sometimes against the wall of a building sometimes on a dedicated pole/post along the road.
Comments
Please use the discussion page for comments.