Finland Introduces the World’s First Taxi Paid By Singing

You’ve heard of the phrase “singing for your supper.” Well, how about singing for your ride? This is literally what you will have to do if you want to ride the Fortum shuttle in Finland. This ride service only accepts singing as cab fare. No cash. Just you singing your heart out.

The service was created by Fortum, a clean energy company who transformed BMW electric cars into emission-free cabs.

The Fortum Singalong Shuttle was created to promote cleaner driving through the use of karaoke power.

The rides were introduced at the Ruisrock festival in Turku on July 6. People who want to use the cars just need to choose a song from a tablet and then sing as the car moves along. If the passengers stop singing, the vehicle will stop moving too.

Fortum’s website describes the service as “the world’s first taxi that is paid by singing. The car keeps on moving as long as you keep on singing. The service is run on electric cars, so the passengers can enjoy the music without background noise and carbon emissions.”

The service uses BMW i3 electric cars, each “equipped with a sound level meter that tracks the noise level of the fun and emission-free rides.”

Moreover, the cars “also have a tablet so the passengers can choose the songs they want to sing and follow the lyrics.”

The company “wants to engage its customers and the society to join the change for a cleaner world. With Singalong Shuttle Fortum wants to highlight the ease and convenience of making a clean choice by driving an electric car. Fortum’s Charge & Drive electric car charger network is the largest one in the Nordics with over 2000 charging stations across the area.”

Jussi Mälkiä, Fortum’s brand manager, said that the company “want[s] to show people in a joyful way how comfortable and easy it is to drive an electric car… the silent electric cars make it possible to enjoy singing without background noise and emissions.”

Watch the video to know more about this awesome taxi service!