How it Works

cabfare connect operates as an event driven broker rather than hardware devices communicating directly with one another, both the taxi meter and the payment terminal act as clients to cabfare connect this architecture ensures that shifts and payments are synchronised even across different technology stacks the three component model a complete integration consists of three components working together taxi meter / dispatch partner the taxi meter is the system brain it governs driver shifts, calculates fares, manages subsidy scheme member validation, and initiates payment requests the taxi meter communicates with cabfare connect by calling the cabfare connect api endpoints and by hosting its own endpoints to receive inbound events from cabfare connect payment terminal partner the payment terminal is the transaction interface it initiates the device link, reads physical subsidy cards, and processes card payments for the balance amount instructed by the taxi meter the payment terminal communicates with cabfare connect by calling the cabfare connect api endpoints and by hosting its own endpoints to receive inbound events from cabfare connect cabfare connect cabfare connect sits in the middle it receives events from both partners, applies subsidy scheme rules, coordinates state between devices, interfaces with the subsidy provider, and returns outcomes to the relevant partner communication direction there are two directions of communication in a cabfare connect integration outbound (your system → cabfare connect) your system calls the cabfare connect api to initiate actions, update state, or request subsidy calculations these endpoints are hosted by cabfare inbound (cabfare connect → your system) cabfare connect calls endpoints hosted by your system to deliver real time event notifications, such as a card read request or a payment confirmation these endpoints must be implemented and hosted by your team standard and subsidy trips cabfare connect supports both standard card payment trips and subsidy integrated trips in a standard trip the full fare calculated by the taxi meter is passed to the payment terminal as the balance amount no subsidy scheme processing occurs in a subsidy trip the sequence is the driver selects on the taxi meter that this is a subsidy scheme trip cabfare connect forwards a subsidy card read request to the payment terminal the payment terminal prompts the driver to scan the passenger's subsidy card and submits the card details to cabfare connect for validation cabfare connect confirms the member is eligible and has a positive balance at the destination the taxi meter calculates the total fare and any extras the taxi meter submits fare details to cabfare connect, which calculates the applicable subsidy and returns the subsidy amount and remaining passenger payable balance to both the taxi meter and the payment terminal the taxi meter determines the payment method for the remaining balance — if card, it requests the payment terminal to collect the amount; if cash or other method, the payment terminal is not involved the taxi meter closes the job once the outcome is confirmed in both cases the payment terminal processes card payments as a blind amount in cents — it does not need to know the fare breakdown