What don’t we have these in Canada?

What don’t we have these in Canada?

One of the things I love most about traveling to foreign lands is learning how other people go about their daily routines. I enjoy visiting famous landmarks and snapping the token postcard picture, but I also like photographing things that I find unusual or different from my life in Canada.

Case in point – check out this streetside button that calls a taxi directly to your location.

While in Ankara (the capital city of Turkey), I noticed several of these bright yellow boxes scattered around the city, specifically in the residential areas. At first, I walked past them without paying much attention. One day however, while enjoying a Turkish coffee at a cafe near our apartment, I witnessed the service in action. A woman walked out of her building, pushed the button and a taxi arrived within minutes.

I thought to myself, “What a great system!”.

It’s simple, efficient and convenient, yet this was the first time I had ever seen such a thing (and I have yet to see it replicated anywhere else). Of course, then the tourist and travel blogger in me felt the need to snap a photo of this handy device.

Now, I understand that most people have a mobile phone nowadays and can easily call a taxi, but there’s something about the simplicity of pushing a single button that I really like. It’s also a fantastic service for tourists because most tourists can’t speak Turkish and don’t typically know their exact location (or how to communicate it properly over the telephone).

Have you seen these taxi buttons before? If so, where?

What do you think, could your hometown city use this type of service?

 

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