Finland have just introduced a rather unique taxi service that we never saw coming. It’s called the Singalong Shuttle and it’s the world’s first taxi service where you pay by busting out a tune.
Depending on your perspective this is both the best and worst thing ever.
“With Singalong Shuttle we want to show people in a joyful way how comfortable and easy it is to drive an electric car,” says Fortum’s Brand Manager Jussi Mälkiä. “The silent electric cars make it possible to enjoy singing without background noise and emissions,” he continues.
As the word ‘shuttle’ suggests, it isn’t a straight up taxi service yet. It’s a rideshare service but with the gift/curse of song injected into it. At the time of writing there has been no explanation as to how the technology will work in regards to detecting singing as a form of payment.
The Singalong Shuttle has been developed by clean-energy company Fortum, which aims to provide customers with more sustainable lifestyle solutions.
The company has also been developing EV charging solutions — in fact the Fortum Charge & Drive EV charging network is the largest in the Nordics with over 2000 chargers across the area.
The Singalong Shuttle is going to have its pilot run from July 6 -8 at the Ruisrock Festival in Turku, Finland. It will take keen punters between the Aurajoki riverbank and the festival bus station between 12pm and 5pm. For those unfamiliar, it’s the second oldest rock festival in the country and presumably involves alcohol. I’m sure that’s going to result in some extremely interesting interpretations of melodies, notes and words.
I wish I could be there.