Edinburgh taxis to be allowed digital roof adverts after council green light

Taxis in the Capital will be able to display digital adverts on their roofs despite concerns “the city is busy enough” with notices.

Taxis in Edinburgh will be able to use digital roof adverts, Picture: Dooh Smart/ Edinburgh Council

The city council’s regulatory committee approved a request from Dooh Smart Ltd to install its Brightmove illuminated advertising technology on taxis in Edinburgh. A payment of £57 to the council will be demanded for each vehicle to install the advertising board as a one-off charge.

Charles Jepson, co-founder of the company, said: “At the moment we have a licence in London. It has had an unblemished safety record – they put it through some vigorous testing that lasted a year.

“It allows small businesses to start accessing advertising. If they want to just run it in certain post codes, that can be done. It brings a different element to the signage you have got in the city.”

He added: “The feedback we have got from taxi drivers is it gives them another revenue stream.

“We would love if there were things we could help promote in the city, whether it’s weather reports or traffic. We could actually target alerts on these screens to help inform the public of any issues.

The advertising boards will be bolted to taxi roofs and are powered by energy-efficient LED bulbs. Five or six different adverts are likely to be displayed on a loop – with the transition “instantaneous”.

Cllr Karen Doran labelled the scheme “a super project”.

Cllr Cameron Rose added: “I see no reason not to have this.”

He said: “I don’t actually like it myself – there’s advertising everywhere.

“It’s one of these situations where market forces will determine whether it’s successful or not. I think the city is busy enough with advertising – there are moving boards everywhere in the city.”