Shanghai’s first taxi dispatch signal tower had been standing tall on the roof of Qiangsheng, the city’s biggest taxi company, at Nantai Mansion on the junction of Taixing and Nanjing W. roads for 26 years.

It was not just the first, but also the last standing radio signal tower used for taxi dispatches. Built in 1992, at its peak, more than 4,000 drivers used in-car radios to communicate with one another and the dispatching center.

Yesterday, the tower was torn down.

Deng Yuyan, who works in the dispatch center, recalled a day ten years ago when a pregnant woman called for a ride to hospital. When the order was dispatched, more than ten drivers volunteered to pick the woman up.

As communication technology has evolved, GPS-based terminals in cabs have replaced the old two-way radios and signal towers have become obsolete.

“Orders dispatched by radio were sent to every single taxi in the city using the frequency,” said Tang Jian, manager of the Qiangsheng dispatch center. “Many drivers who received the order were far away from the passenger, but orders dispatched from new systems only reach drivers nearby.”

Qiang Weilin from Haibo’s dispatch center said the company abandoned radios in 2007.

“First you need someone on the other end of the radio to call the driver,” said Qiang. “The new system is more efficient in that it sends orders to drivers directly.”

Another company Dazhong Chuxing has focused on its hailing app.

“Around 80 percent of Dazhong taxis are dispatched via the app,” said Ge Lei from the company.