The trip log and compliance · Pop Dispatch help

The trip log is a spreadsheet file of your taxi trips, with the fields that the Philadelphia rules list for trip records. You will be able to download it for any range of dates, know which rule each column follows, and see the questions to ask the regulator before you go live. The operator stays responsible for knowing and following the local rules. This article summarizes research and gives no legal advice.

Before you start #

You need the owner, manager or advisor role. The trip log sits under Taxi, then "Vouchers and codes".
Record each driver's certificate number (see taxi-shifts-and-vehicles) and fill in "Certificate holder" and "Complaint contact" under Dispatch settings, "Records and addresses".
Taxi is part of the Pro and Business editions.

Download the trip log #

Open Taxi, then "Vouchers and codes", then "Trip log export".
Choose a "From date" and a "To date". Leave both empty for every trip.
Choose "Download the trip log as CSV". A file named taxi-trip-log.csv downloads.
Open it in a spreadsheet. The file holds completed, no-show and canceled trips in time order. The shop's time zone decides the dates.

The page says: "The columns come from stored data. A field left empty means Pop Dispatch holds no value for it." For example, a trip that never started has no start time, and a driver without a recorded certificate number leaves that cell empty. The log carries no driver signature column.

The 20 columns are: Date of service, Trip number, Driver name, Driver certificate number, Vehicle number, Certificate holder, Dispatcher, Trip start place, Trip start time, Trip end place, Trip end time, Trip distance (miles), Trip source (dispatched or street hail), Fare, Tip, Passengers, Payment method, Wheelchair trip, Status, and Cancellation or no-show fee.

The rule set behind it #

Rule set: Philadelphia taxi, limousine and dispatcher rules. The regulator is the Philadelphia Parking Authority, Taxicab and Limousine Division. The rules are 52 Pa. Code, Part II, Chapters 1001 to 1065, with the dispatcher rules in Chapter 1019. The research was done on 2026-11-01, on pages that the Pennsylvania Code site says reflect changes through 56 Pa.B. 5370 (August 8, 2026).

Effective dates: the research gives no effective date for the section texts below. Sections 1011.11, 1021.17, 1019.9, 1017.79 and 1057.16 carry an editor's note that calls them temporary amendments that expire on final-form regulations or on November 5, 2018, whichever is later. Whether they stand in that form today is an open question for the regulator (question 2 below). The fee schedule for the fiscal year 2027 runs from July 1, 2026.

What the rule says	Citation	How Pop Dispatch follows it
Taxicab certificate holders and dispatchers keep records in English, in time order, on paper or electronically, for two years, and produce them on written request or inspection	52 Pa. Code s. 1011.11	Trips, offers, payments and receipts stay in your records. The export gives you the trip file.
A dispatcher keeps records on affiliated certificate holders, customers, calls or scheduling requests received, and dispatches sent. The section names no data fields	52 Pa. Code s. 1019.14	Each trip keeps its request time, its offers and the answers.
A partial-rights taxicab driver log holds date, driver name and certificate number, cab number, certificate holder, dispatcher, start and end place and time, odometer or meter distance, street hail or dispatch, fare and tip, passengers and signature	52 Pa. Code s. 1021.17	The trip log columns follow this list, apart from the signature.
A limousine trip sheet holds driver, limousine number, certificate holder, dispatcher, start and end place and time, dispatch or direct booking, fare and tip	52 Pa. Code s. 1057.16	The same columns cover it.
Wheelchair requests: log every request and response, each wheelchair trip, and which drivers accepted or declined by name and certificate number	52 Pa. Code s. 1019.8	The Wheelchair trip column flags the trips. Each trip page lists every offer with the driver and the answer.
A medallion taxi receipt shows trip mileage, fare, cab number, dispatcher, driver certificate number, a complaint contact, and the date and time	52 Pa. Code s. 1017.24	The emailed receipt carries the same items (see taxi-receipts).
A dispatcher may charge fees for canceling prearranged service, for no-shows and for cleaning, with approval on written request	52 Pa. Code s. 1030.2 (approval)	Cancellation and no-show fees start at 0.00 (see taxi-cancel-and-no-show-fees).
Tips sit outside the fare	Taxicab tariffs page of the regulator	Tips are kept apart from fare, voucher and account statement (see taxi-tips-and-payment).

The research reads the section on receipts as a rule for the receipt printer in a medallion taxi's meter. Confirm with the regulator how your cars issue receipts. The same section caps card processing fees at 5 percent of the fare. Pop Dispatch has no card terminal built in, so a card payment in the car records a receipt reference only.

Published rates in the research #

These come from the regulator's tariff page, read on 2026-11-01. Copy the current figures from the regulator into Meter rates yourself (see taxi-fares-and-estimates).

Flag drop covers the first tenth of a mile at $2.70. Each further tenth adds $0.30. Each 37.6 seconds of waiting adds $0.30. Fares are per cab. The page gave no effective date for the base meter rates.
A fuel surcharge of $1.45 per trip is stated for November 2026.
The flat fare between Center City and the airport is $32.00 one way, under an order effective February 6, 2023. The egress fee is $1.50 on metered fares leaving the airport.
No extra charge for luggage that fits safely. Tolls are paid by the customer.
Pop Dispatch's waiting rate is a price per minute.

Questions to put to the regulator #

The research could not confirm these points. Treat each as a question until the regulator answers.

Is a new dispatcher still required to be affiliated with at least 20 active medallion taxicabs (s. 1019.13), and can the owner's own cabs and another operator's cabs count? Is any waiver available?
Are the sections marked as temporary amendments (expiry November 5, 2018) still in force in the text read, and has a final-form rule replaced them?
What exact trip data must a dispatcher record and report, and in what format and how often (beyond the monthly DSP-4)? Is any trip-data feed to the PPA required?
What is the standard retention for complaint records, dispatch records and call recordings? (Section 1019.14 refers to s. 1011.11, which gives two years for listed records.)
What taxicab insurance dollar minimums apply under Chapter 1025 and 75 Pa.C.S. Chapter 17?
Medallion price, availability and the current partial-rights certificate path for a new entrant.
Which communication, meter and dispatch software vendors or apps are approved, and what is the approval route for a new dispatch product (s. 1019.8 requires Authority-approved communication and meter systems)?
Can a dispatcher other than the one app named on the tariff page offer upfront flexible pricing?
What are the approved cancellation and no-show fee amounts and windows for taxi dispatchers (s. 1030.2 says approval is by written request)?
Airport rules: current pick-up zones, permits and fees for taxis and prearranged limousines at Philadelphia International Airport (City Division of Aviation rules, not read from an allowed source), and whether a dispatcher needs an airport access agreement.
Effective date of the current base meter rates and which airport minimum fare applies.
Annual assessment amounts for taxicabs, limousines and dispatchers (forms exist; amounts not read).
Whether a dispatch app serving other operators' private drivers would be treated as a transportation network company ($50,000 license fee on the schedule) rather than a dispatcher.
Vehicle age and mileage limits currently in force for taxis and limousines (a search summary mentioned 10 years and 350,000 miles; not read on a page).
The statute citation and current text (53 Pa.C.S. Chapter 57 and Act 164 of 2016): the Act PDF was linked but not fetched; the Philadelphia Code and phila.gov searches returned nothing relevant.

Pop Dispatch sends no trip data to the regulator. Question 3 asks whether any feed is required.

Technical details

Route: GET /taxi/export/trip-log with from and to dates (year-month-day). It needs the owner, manager or advisor role and writes an audit log entry with the trip count.
Cells that start like a spreadsheet formula get a leading apostrophe. Cells with commas or quotes are quoted.
Money columns use plain decimal amounts. Dates and times use the shop's time zone.
The research record is docs/research/philadelphia-taxi-rules.md in the project files. Every figure above comes from it and carries its date. Verify each against the live page before you rely on it.

If something goes wrong #

"The last date comes before the first date.": swap the dates.
A column is empty: Pop Dispatch holds no value for it. Record the missing item, such as the certificate number, for future trips.
The Trip log export section is missing: your role cannot handle money. Ask an owner.