Taxi! Black cabs to flag down wave 'n' pay card.(BUSINESS)

Byline: Brendan Keenan

THE days of wrestling with change to pay the cabbie may soon be over -- at least in London -thanks to technology which still seems to be years away in Ireland.

Computer Cab, Britain's largest "black cab" company, is working with Barclaycard to develop a reader for in-vehicle use. Barclaycard is one of the companies behind Lon-don's first integrated "touch and go" payment card, where the holder merely touches the card against a reader and has the cost automatically deducted.

The "Oyster" card is in use on London's Tube trains and buses and has proved hugely popular with passengers. The latest initiative will allow cab users to pay for their fare in less than a second by waving a pre-payment Barclaycard.

Barclaycard, Visa Europe and Transport for London (TfL) said in December a new "wave and pay" card for Londoners would be available by the summer, following a live trial in the first half of this year.

Cardholders will be able to pay for everyday items worth less than PS10 -- such as their morning latte, lunchtime sandwich or after-work pint.

By contrast, EU14m has already been spent trying to develop a "bespoke" integrated ticket for Dublin, with a final product still some years away. There is also no sign that the ticket system will incorporate these latest technologies.

ComCab, which has a 3,500-strong fleet in London, has also formed a partnership with mobile phone giant O2 to trial its "XDA" device among passengers. The mobile phone-like device has satellite navigation, internet access, full Windows capability, still and video cameras, as well as operating as a mobile telephone.

Contactless payment systems, such as Oyster, have proved popular as they reduce the need to carry cash.

They are well suited to low-cost retail environments such as fast-food outlets, coffee shops, newsagents, off-licences, bars, pubs, parking facilities and vending machines.