Technology is transitional and it is not surprising when we witness it day by day. The recent example of this is the Australian operator Telstra which partnered with domestic startup Cab Digital Media to start a digital platform to display real-time safety measures and advertising on the back of taxis. Although, using the taxi as a medium for advertising is not new however what sets this apart is the use of GPS & IoT. The traffic laden cities can use this mode of advertising effectively which will also bring popularity to their brands as this medium cannot be ignored.
It is called TaxiLive. Moreover, this digital billboard service uses GPS-enabled smart screens that are remotely managed using the operator’s IoT network. Messages including traffic alerts and weather warnings can be posted on the same. The first taxis featuring the platform are already in use in Sydney, and Cab Digital Media aims to equip more than 300 vehicles in the city by the month of April and 945 nationally by November.
According to Martijn Blanken, group MD of customer management and sales at Telstra Enterprise, the companies worked for two years to create the platform. “We are excited to work with Cab Digital Media to create this home-grown innovation. The TaxiLive solution is a great example of how technology and IoT will continue to connect and digitize new things all around us, creating smarter cities and communities,” he said.
Cab Digital Media is hoping to partner with roadside authorities to share the GPS data generated from each TaxiLive unit in the future. This could contribute to future transport, infrastructure and congestion reduction initiatives.
Najeeb Aftab, co-founder and head of sales and partnerships at Cab Digital Media, said: “With the right data, we may be able to look at things like which taxi ranks are over-populated and under-serviced to ensure better taxi availability, particularly in areas such as hospitals and locations with a higher proportion of elderly and disabled people.”
