If Family Fortunes was still on the air I can imagine Les Dennis asking “what is the most annoying inconvenience in modern life?” After he has made a few bad jokes he hands it over to the families. The top answer has to be “running out of battery on your phone” – people have become much less punctual now they can text and say “I’ll be 15 minutes late” so not being constantly in touch via your phone can leave many of us in a cold sweat.

Step forward and take a bow Vodafone who have fitted 500 black cabs in London with a variety of phone chargers in an innovative new scheme. As part of their new ad campaign to celebrate their improved network coverage they have also given cab customers the chance to text a number to pay for their cab, which sure beats asking the driver to detour to the nearest cashpoint. Whilst there are no plans to keep this running once Vodafone’s campaign is over, I heartily endorse both of these ideas to be incorporated into all taxis and I’m sure I am not the only Londoner who would support this…

Image courtesy of Aurelijus Valeisa