Documents · Flanders · TaxiGer · Taximeter
Can TaxiGer replace a rank-taxi taximeter in Flanders?
The answer is no. TaxiGer manages trips, duty sheets, transport tickets and Chiron — but for a rank taxi the approved taximeter remains mandatory.
What can TaxiGer do alone, with a taximeter, or without a technical integration?
In short
For a street taxi, TaxiGer can work without a taximeter. For a rank taxi, the verified taximeter remains mandatory: TaxiGer complements it (management, documents, Chiron) but does not replace it. Regulatory totalisers must come from the taximeter.
No. TaxiGer cannot replace the taximeter of a rank taxi in Flanders.
TaxiGer is management software: trips, duty sheet, transport tickets, transmission to Chiron. The taximeter is an approved measuring instrument. The two roles are not interchangeable.
For an operator, the question is therefore not “which app replaces the taximeter?”, but “how do I correctly combine the software and the mandatory instrument?”.
Why does the taximeter remain mandatory?
A vehicle used as a rank taxi (standplaatstaxi) must have a verified taximeter that meets federal measuring instrument requirements. This is not a commercial preference: it is an operating condition.
Without a compliant taximeter, the vehicle does not meet rank-taxi conditions — even if it already holds an IBP licence, municipal authorisation and a perfectly configured dispatch app.
The taximeter calculates and totalises regulatory values. A GPS app can estimate distances, but it is not a verified measuring instrument under metrology rules.
What is the difference between TaxiGer and a taximeter?
TaxiGer: management and documents
TaxiGer organises the operator’s and driver’s work: bookings, starting and closing the duty, trips, breaks, transport tickets, duty sheet (dienststaat), archives and sending trip messages to Chiron.
It can also display GPS distances and entered or received amounts — but those figures do not become taximeter totalisers.
The taximeter: measuring instrument
The approved taximeter measures time and distance under controlled technical rules. It displays the fare and keeps cumulative totalisers (distances, trips, supplements, amounts).
Those totalisers feed the duty sheet for a rank taxi. The app cannot invent them.
Can TaxiGer be used alone for a street taxi?
Yes, in some street taxi (straattaxi) configurations: ordered trip, fares communicated, mandatory data recorded, duty sheet and transport ticket, Chiron transmission.
In that setup, GPS locations (start of duty, start and end of each trip) play an important role. That model is not the model of a rank taxi on a reserved stand.
Why is the situation different for a rank taxi?
A rank taxi works on a reserved stand. It must have municipal authorisation, a roof light saying “TAXI” and a verified taximeter.
The duty sheet must then include the taximeter’s totalised values at the start and end of the duty. Replacing those values with a GPS estimate, a manually entered fare or a “home-made” calculation does not meet the regulatory requirement.
TaxiGer can manage the duty around the taximeter. It cannot become the taximeter.
Which data must come from the taximeter?
For a rank-taxi duty sheet, five totalised values are particularly important:
- the total distance travelled ;
- the distance in “hired” position ;
- the total number of trips ;
- the total amount of supplements ;
- the total amount of trip prices.
Example
At the start of the duty, the system records the five totalisers read from the taximeter. At the end, it records them again. The difference describes that day’s activity — not a later reconstruction from GPS.
Can TaxiGer retrieve taximeter data?
Yes, if a technical connection is possible: brand, model, interfaces, protocol, cabling and compatible configuration. In that case, totalisers and other trip data can flow automatically into TaxiGer.
Without a reliable connection, the operator cannot claim that “the software already reads the taximeter”. They must then plan another controlled way to capture the values — or have a suitable integration installed.
What can TaxiGer do without a direct taximeter connection?
Even without a permanent technical link, TaxiGer can still:
- open and close the driver’s duty ;
- record the vehicle, times and breaks ;
- manage bookings and trip tracking ;
- produce the transport ticket ;
- assemble the duty sheet with available data ;
- send trip messages to Chiron.
What is then missing is not “an app”, but the regulatory source of the totalisers. That remains the taximeter.
Can taximeter values be entered manually?
Controlled encoding of values read from the taximeter can help when technical integration is not yet in place — for example at the start and end of the duty.
That does not replace the instrument. The figures must match the real reading of the verified taximeter, not an estimate. In an inspection, the operator must be able to explain where those values come from.
Can TaxiGer generate the transport ticket?
Yes. TaxiGer can produce the transport ticket (vervoerbewijs) expected to document the trip for the passenger and for the operator’s archives.
Generating the transport ticket does not remove the obligation to use the taximeter when it is mandatory for the type of service concerned.
Can TaxiGer generate the duty sheet?
Yes — with an important nuance depending on the taxi type.
Street taxi
For a street taxi without a taximeter, TaxiGer can build the duty sheet from duty data and GPS locations, in line with applicable obligations.
Rank taxi
For a rank taxi, the duty sheet must also include the taximeter totalisers. TaxiGer generates the document, but the regulatory values must come from the taximeter (integration or controlled reading).
Does Chiron replace the taximeter?
No. Chiron receives trip messages. It replaces neither the taximeter, nor the duty sheet, nor the transport ticket.
A company correctly connected to Chiron can still be non-compliant if the rank vehicle has no verified taximeter, or if the totalisers are not correctly included in the duty sheet.
Can a rank vehicle use TaxiGer for its bookings?
Yes. A rank taxi can use TaxiGer to receive bookings, organise the duty and document trips.
But a booking via TaxiGer does not allow you to switch off the taximeter when it must be used for the service concerned. The app complements the setup; it does not neutralise it.
Three situations not to confuse
1. Street taxi without taximeter
TaxiGer can manage trips, duty sheet, transport ticket and Chiron, with GPS data where expected. No mandatory taximeter in this configuration.
2. Street taxi with taximeter
Some street taxis run with a taximeter. Integration can then enrich the data, but the regulatory model remains that of the street taxi — not that of the reserved rank.
3. Rank taxi
Verified taximeter mandatory. TaxiGer complements (management, documents, Chiron) but does not replace the instrument. Totalisers must come from the taximeter.
The ideal configuration
For a rank-taxi operator, a clear installation usually follows these steps:
- check that each rank vehicle has an approved taximeter and a valid vignette ;
- confirm municipal authorisation and the “TAXI” roof light ;
- identify the taximeter brand and model for each vehicle ;
- assess whether a TaxiGer ↔ taximeter technical connection is possible ;
- install and test the integration, or define a controlled encoding protocol ;
- configure start and end of duty with reading of the totalisers ;
- enable transport ticket and duty sheet generation ;
- connect the company to Chiron and validate trip messages ;
- train drivers to start/close the duty correctly ;
- regularly check start/end totaliser consistency vs the day’s trips ;
- archive duty sheets in a consultable way (7-year retention).
What an operator should check before choosing their setup
- which taxi type do they really operate (street, rank, or mixed) ?
- does each rank vehicle have an up-to-date verified taximeter ?
- is technical integration available for their taximeter models ?
- who encodes the totalisers if integration does not exist yet ?
- can the driver present duty sheet and transport ticket during an inspection ?
- is Chiron correctly fed, without being confused with the taximeter ?
What not to promise
“With TaxiGer, you no longer need a taximeter on a rank taxi.”
“GPS replaces the totalisers.”
“A booking in the app allows you to switch off the taximeter.”
“Being connected to Chiron is enough to be compliant on the taximeter.”
These statements are false for a standplaatstaxi. They create operational and regulatory risk for the operator.
What an operator should remember
For a street taxi, TaxiGer can work without a taximeter in some configurations. For a rank taxi, the verified taximeter remains mandatory.
“TaxiGer complements the taximeter — management, documents, Chiron — but never replaces it on a rank taxi in Flanders.”
See the Documents hub and TaxiGer features.
Next step
See concretely which totalised values a rank-taxi duty sheet must take from the taximeter.
Duty sheet for a rank taxi in Flanders →FAQ
Official sources
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This article is for information only. For regulatory decisions, consult official Flemish sources or your legal adviser.