Heathrow’s unique passenger pod travel system has given one of its fleet a Comic Relief makeover to support the charity ahead of Red Nose Day, and from today, gives passengers a chance to win three days’ free parking at the T5 Business Parking Car Park.
The Comic Relief passenger pod, which takes you door-to-door without dropping off other passengers or waiting in traffic, is festooned in Comic Relief 2013’s Di-nose-saurs and is already a run-away passenger favourite.
From Red Nose Day on 15 March and throughout March, the passenger who tweets the best “Funny For Money” message from the pod after donating to Comic Relief on their mobile phone will win three days’ free parking at the T5 Business Car Park.
Almost two years old, the pods are a UK first, and Heathrow is the first airport in the world to use them. Passengers say they’re “incredible”, “pretty brilliant” and “futuristic”.
Fraser Brown, Ultra’s managing director, said: “We are very proud to support Comic Relief and promote their work towards a world free from poverty.
“Communities flourish when people can travel quickly, with less pollution and congestion. We’re working with partners across the world, in India, Malaysia and Brazil, to help them bring this innovative technology and its social benefits to communities.”
Notes to editors
- More information on the pods and the UK company behind them can be found at Ultra’s website: http://www.ultraglobalprt.com
- To enter, pod travellers should text “FIVE” or “TEN” to 70510 to donate £5 or £10 to Comic Relief from their UK mobile phone between 15-31 March and complete this tweet in the funniest way they can: “I gave £5/10 to @comicrelief on #heathrowpod…”. The competition closes at 5pm, 31 March
- Ultra has signed Memorandums of Understandings (MoUs) with business partners in Malaysia, Taiwan and Brazil where they will work on feasibility studies to introduce a pod system in key cities
- The driverless, laser-guided pods seat up to 4 people, going between Heathrow’s business car park and Terminal 5. The journey, past roads and runways, is just 5-6 minutes
- Travelling at 25 miles per hour, the vehicles run on four standard car batteries
- In December 2012, the pods carried their 500,000th passenger
- Photos of the Comic Relief pod are attached
- For more info, please contact Gill Kirk at [email protected] / 07721 036191
