Co-op Cabs and Crown Taxis offer first GTA in-car Wi-Fi through Telus partnership

Telecommunications giant Telus (TSX:T, NYSE:TU), in a first-of-its-kind program in the Greater Toronto Area, is partnering with Co-op Cabs in Toronto to provide free Wi-Fi for passengers riding in both Co-op and Crown branded taxis, beginning September 12.
Co-op and Crown taxi customers will be able to tell which cabs offer in-car Wi-Fi by looking out for a Telus logo on the cab.
“AT TELUS, we’re committed to keeping our customers connected anytime, anywhere, and now we’re giving all of Toronto a taste of it too,” said Simone Lumsden, Vice-President, Brand & Customer Experience Marketing at TELUS. “We’re partnering with Co-op Cabs to keep all Torontonians connected on Ontario’s largest mobile network, no matter which carrier, to show how our service sets us apart.”
By the end of 2016 in Toronto, the entire Co-op Cab and Crown Taxi fleet, approximately 900 taxis, will be Wi-Fi enabled.
Rides can be booked for any Co-op/Crown taxi through multiple platforms, including their iOS or Android app, online at www.co-opcabs.com, or via traditional phone booking at 416-504-CO-OP (2667).
The Telus-Co-op Cabs partnership is scheduled to run for at least one year.
The in-taxi free Wi-Fi is available to everyone, regardless of their mobile device’s service provider.
To access the Wi-Fi, a passenger will be greeted by a splash page on their mobile Internet browser, where they’ll then have to enter their email address in order to gain access to the Telus Wi-Fi network.
“Our drivers see firsthand how important staying connected is to our customers while on route. Co-op Cabs is delighted to work with TELUS to bring connectivity to our fleet and all passengers, regardless of which carrier they’re with,” said Abdulkadir Mohamoud, CEO and General Manager of Co-op Cabs and Crown Taxi. “We hope Torontonians take advantage and enjoy this new service.”
Co-op Cabs was founded in 1957 by a group of independent taxicab owners, as a co-operative in which the drivers are also the owners and shareholders of the company.
Now the city’s oldest taxi brokerage, the distinctive red and yellow vehicles of the Co-op Cabs/Crown Taxi fleet now provide service to more than 10,000 passengers each day.
This GTA Wi-Fi program is an expansion of Vancouver-based Telus’ ongoing partnership with the Lower Mainland’s Yellow Cabs, which was a first-of-its-kind offering in Canada starting in May 2015, allowing taxi passengers to connect to free Wi-Fi in one of the 350 taxis in the Yellow Cabs fleet in Vancouver and the surrounding area.
Telus has $12.6 billion in annual revenue, offering wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video products and services, as well as being Canada’s largest healthcare IT provider.
Telus’s customer base is made up of 12.5 million subscriber connections, of which 8.4 million are wireless subscribers, 1.6 million high-speed internet subscribers, 1.4 million residential network access lines and 1.0 million Telus TV customers.