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Taxi TV is ok, if you don’t mind a living hell Last night, I came in contact with Taxi TV for the first time, New York’s effort to “modernize” its taxicabs. By “modernize,” I mean allow use of credit cards in cabs by bombarding riders with repetitive commercials to pay for the upgrade. Man, it sucks out loud. During a 15-minute trip, I saw one commercial for a Panasonic laptop a half dozen times and another for some cut-rate brokerage called Zecco.com several more. The menu has “channels” that don’t actually work: Switching from NBC news highlights to “sports” yields yet another Panasonic ad, followed by more of the same news clips. Ads can’t be muted. After my experience, I think I’ll go back to looking out the window. Drivers hate the system because of the GPS tracking, but they also have to put up with the nonstop racket. My driver told me he despises Panasonic after being subjected to the ads hundreds of times a day. He predicts “only tourists” will use Taxi TV after regular riders try it once. “It’s a scam,” he said. “The ad companies and the city are the only ones getting the cheese.” —Posted by Brian Morrissey

September 14, 2007 in Morrissey | Permalink

Comments

I don't mind a TV in a car, as long as I can turn it off.

Posted by: Bobby | Sep 14, 2007 3:22:54 PM

The old axiom less is more seems to apply to everything but advertising.

Posted by: pete shotton | Sep 14, 2007 5:24:07 PM

I think we are reaching a point where consumers will refuse to be constantly bombarded with "services" that are really just advetisements.

Posted by: Sonya | Sep 15, 2007 3:31:14 AM

Every time I've been in one of those cabs, you could certainly mute it. And I think the GPS map is fun.

Spoke with one driver about it, before the strike, and he seemed indifferent to it.

Posted by: Pierre | Sep 15, 2007 11:50:19 AM

That sounds horrible.

Posted by: Dabitch | Sep 17, 2007 5:32:38 AM

I think works great. If you've ever been taken on 'the long route' in a city, you'll understand. The best part is you can shut it off.

Posted by: Tim | Sep 17, 2007 1:07:57 PM

Agreed - I've never seen anything worthwhile on them. Plus, can you imagine how dirty they are?

Posted by: Kate | Sep 18, 2007 7:32:37 PM

Thanks for the review on taxi advertising. I appreciate the unvarnished feedback on the ad channel. Love the site, your feed is now in my newsreader.

Regards,
Sabin Speiser
Zecco Holdings, Inc.

Posted by: sabin | Oct 17, 2007 3:21:34 PM

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