SFO wins CIO 100 award for innovative tech solution

Innovative tech solution creates virtual queue for taxi drivers, reducing wait times

The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) received the 2023 CIO 100 award on 27 March 2023 in recognition of an advanced technology solution that improves taxi operation efficiency. SFO developed an in-house system, TaxiVQ, that permits taxi drivers into a virtual queue to serve passengers, thereby reducing wait times and empowering drivers to be more productive. 

Officially launched in February 2022, the TaxiVQ app allows taxi drivers to make a reservation to enter a virtual queue when they are needed at SFO. Until called, drivers can continue taking fares elsewhere, resulting in reduced wait times in airport holding lots. This lets drivers service more pickups per shift, while allowing SFO to recover parking spots previously used by taxis for public use.

“The TaxiVQ app is a revolutionary new business process that challenges the traditional model for airport taxi operations,” said Airport Director Ivar C. Satero. “This award is a testament to our in-house development team and continues SFO’s long history of innovation in our industry.”

“This year’s class of award winners have distinguished themselves with many ground breaking projects using AI, quantum computing, facial recognition, analytics, and more,” said Anne McCrory, Group Vice President, Customer Experience and Operations, Events, at Foundry and the chair of the 2023 CIO awards programs. “Their innovations improve customer experiences, track sustainability and reduce risk, and have novel applications across industries, from pharma and health care to manufacturing, retail, software, and more. We look forward to highlighting their great accomplishments at the CIO 100 Symposium & Awards in August.”

TaxiVQ evolves and extends the TaxiQ mobile app, which was was also a recipient of the 2017 CIO 100 awards. TaxiVQ integrates TaxiQ’s short trip management to enable the virtual queue reservation process and to respond to call-in events. The combination of these features enables an operational model not found in any other taxi management system at any other airport. TaxiVQ adoption was expedited by the user base of TaxiQ who were already familiar with mobile app usage to participate in the airport’s taxi program.

The CIO 100 Awards recognises ground breaking projects in enterprise IT and honours the companies that create them. This is the third CIO 100 award received by SFO. In 2016, the airport’s Information Technology and Telecommunications (ITT) was honoured for their innovative use of information technology to create and deliver business value. In 2017, SFO was awarded for the TaxiQ mobile app, which helps administer “short” trips from the airport.