Abu Dhabi's taxi regulator, TransAd, has announced that high-speed Wi-Fi will be available in its fleet of Mercedes Vito compact vans from November 27. Other taxis in the city would be kitted out with the technology soon, it said.
This is great news for residents, as well as for the increasing number of visitors to the capital. Using Wi-Fi to connect to the internet will allow tourists to track their journeys, learn about the areas they are driving through, make reservations and share their experiences on social media without resort to 3G services. What better way to pass the time in a cab than to use a smartphone or tablet? Taxis in many other places that seek to attract tourists – including Taipei, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Mumbai – already offer this service.
In a city where many cafes and malls now provide free network connections, it is time for taxis to catch up.
