Tapinto System Launched in Edinburgh Cabs

VISITORS to Edinburgh will soon be able to enjoy the world’s first in-car touch screen interactive system in the airport’s fleet of private hire taxis.

Fifty of the cars serving Edinburgh Airport are currently being fitted with the pioneering Tapinto system, which provides visitors access to a wide range of information on the city.

It works by fitting private hire cars with a special headrest containing an 8-inch touch screen provide news, weather and sports updates, advertising opportunities and public information for residents and visitors to the city.

The system even has the capability to allow tourists to download information onto their mobile phone such as tourist maps or special offers for tourist attractions.

It is the first time the system has been installed anywhere in the world and it has already been welcomed by tourism bosses, local businesses and the City of Edinburgh’s Licensing Committee.

Mark Greenhalgh, managing director of Tapinto Ltd, said: “The Tapinto system is a world-first for Edinburgh and gives visitors instant access to information that they don’t when visiting other cities.

“It also gives businesses the opportunity to begin promoting their services – be they bars, restaurants, hotels or tourist attractions – to visitors from the moment they arrive in the country.

“Everyone who has seen the system so far has been extremely impressed – particularly by the directory. It is really quick and easy to use and allows users to search through listings by genre depending on what they are looking for.

“But the thing that most people have been surprised by is the option to download promotions and special offers onto mobile phones. It is a fantastic way of promoting special offers and events without huge printing or distribution costs.”

The directory initially consists of five sections: shopping, leisure & lifestyle, entertainment, tourist attractions and accommodation. Each section will have a number of subsections in which businesses can be included such as health & beauty, restaurants, bars, clubs, casino’s, live music, cinemas, theatres, hotels and various shopping genres.

It is initially being fitted into 50 cars servicing Edinburgh Airport but is expected to roll out into more cars throughout the city as popularity grows.

Mark added: “We thought long and hard about the areas we wanted the initial cars to be servicing. We were initially going to fit them in cars serving the city in general but eventually decided that the airport was the best place to start.

“Virtually everyone catching a private hire car at the airport will be looking for some kind of information about the city be it a place to stay, a place to eat, somewhere to shop or somewhere to visit during their stay.

“However, we hope that very soon we will be able to fit the system into even more cars across the city and the Tapinto system will become just as popular with residents in Edinburgh as with visitors.”

Tapinto Ltd is run by entrepreneur Mark Greenhalgh, who successfully built up and ran Cabtivate, a pioneering taxi-TV system, for five years before a series of banking errors forced the company into administration. There are a number of potential buyers interested in taking over Cabtivate to continue trading the company as a successful enterprise.

Local businesses who would like to be included in Tapinto’s directory system should contact Mark on 0131 477 8557 or mark@tapinto.info

ENDS

Issued on behalf of Tapinto Ltd by Holyrood Partnership. For more information contact David Connor on 0131 561 2244 or email info@holyroodpr.co.uk