TfL approves Wi-Fi sign to appear in window of Wi-Fi and NFC enabled London Black Cabs
Following an initiative led by taxi advertising experts Ubiquitous, Londoners will now be able to identify which black cabs offer free Wi-Fi to passengers, via a new TfL approved sticker. The easily recognisable Wi-Fi symbol rolls-out to a network of 300 London taxis.
The launch of the new sign coincides with new research, commissioned by Ubiquitous, which finds that three quarters (75 per cent) of London taxi passengers believe free Wi-Fi in taxis is important, with the same number saying they are more likely to flag down a taxi if they knew that it offered free Wi-Fi to passengers.
The results additionally revealed that this is borne out of passengers’ need to feel connected to friends, family and colleagues while they are on the move. 86 per cent of Londoners expect to be fully contactable by family and friends across all channels when travelling in taxis, while 84 per cent expect to be fully contactable by work across all channels when in the back of cabs. Moreover the findings reveal that nearly four in five London (79 per cent) taxi passengers spend time during their journeys surfing the web, 87 per cent spend time during journeys checking personal messages, 62 per cent check work messages and 68 per cent check social networks.
The introduction of the new sign follows the launch this year of Ubiquitous’ CabConnect opportunity, which brings the benefits of advertiser-sponsored free Wi-Fi to passengers, as well as one-on-one brand communication opportunities for the sponsor brand, via both the Wi-Fi mobile hub and NFC touchpoints inside each taxi. Ubiquitous’ research found that 76 per cent of London taxi passengers would be more likely to look at a brand's website, if they had provided them free in-taxi Wi-Fi; a win-win situation for both brands and passengers.
Andrew Barnett, Managing Director at Ubiquitous, adds:
“We understand that many of the passengers in our cabs are busy people and that a cab journey offers the perfect opportunity to catch up on personal messages, work emails and other news. The introduction of the Wi-Fi signage ensures passengers know before hailing a cab that they will be able to quickly and easily access the web and, if they wish, opt-in to receive messages or offers from the brand that is sponsoring the exterior and interior of the taxi. With Wi-Fi now available on the Underground, this is another major step towards enabling busy people in London to stay connected right across the transport network.”
Philippa Snare, CMO at Microsoft, the first advertiser to sponsor in-taxi Wi-Fi with Ubiquitous commented:
“London continues to be a key player on the world business stage, so helping to ensure the smooth running of the city is an important goal for us. We proudly sponsored the first Wi-Fi connections in London taxis to help provide hardworking people with a way of staying online while dashing about their busy lives. We are delighted that the free taxi Wi-Fi was useful to commuters and especially that they found the content in our mobile hub both relevant and worthwhile.”
