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Car top advertising

Car top advertising is a sign or screen on a vehicle roof — static (a printed, often backlit panel) or digital LED (a screen that changes, dayparts and geo-targets). On a taxi it’s a “taxi top”; on rideshare or fleet cars it’s a “car top.” Because the vehicle moves through the busiest parts of a city all day, a single rooftop unit delivers roughly 100,000+ impressions a month — the cheapest way to put a lit, moving sign in front of a downtown crowd. Below: static vs LED, the companies that run them, what they cost, and how to buy.

Static car top vs digital LED car top

Static car topDigital LED car top
What it isPrinted (often backlit) rooftop signLED/LCD screen on the roof
MessageOne fixed creativeRotating, dayparted, dynamic
TargetingRoute/cityGeo + time + weather/event triggers
CPMLowest (~from $150/cab/4wk)Higher (premium DOOH CPM)
MeasurementImpressionsImpressions + recall + attribution
Best forCheap, broad, always-onRelevance, timing, provable ROI

More on formats: taxi tops in depth · digital vs static compared · OOH vs DOOH.

Car top advertising companies

The networks that actually run rooftop screens — independent, unpaid listing.

  • Priority Outdoor — London and major UK cities; nationwide across 20,000+ UK taxis
  • Firefly — Major North American cities: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Las Ve
  • Statements Media — Canada-wide, focused on major markets; HQ Toronto
  • POAD — Hong Kong
  • AdQuick — 50+ US cities incl. NYC (13,000+ yellow cabs), Las Vegas, Chicago, LA, Miami, San Francisc
  • Synergy Arabia — Dubai and Abu Dhabi (3,000+ taxis)
  • GoTransit Media Group — All Australian states/territories, 400+ communities, 121+ markets
  • Ubiquitous Taxi Advertising — UK — London and major cities (black cab liveries)
  • Blue Line Media — Taxi + rideshare (Uber/Lyft) advertising in 50+ US cities
  • Clyde Wraps — UK / Scotland — nationwide taxi fleet wrapping
  • Cabspace Media — London primary; Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh; 100+ UK towns and cities
  • Taxi Advertising — Dubai/UAE (all RTA fleets); claims reach across 52 cities in USA, UK, Europe and Asia
  • Good Traffic — United States and Mexico
  • Verifone Media — Primarily UK (HQ London), with expansion into South African markets (Cape Town)
  • One Day — London Black Cabs, wider UK towns/cities, plus international markets (Warsaw, Paris, Berli

49 rooftop / taxi-top operators in the directory — see them all below.

Also relevant: wrap networks (Carvertise, Wrapify) for full-body coverage, and the marketplace AdQuick to compare. Full directory of taxi & car advertising companies.

Car top advertising signs: the honest math

A rooftop sign is unmissable, unblockable and always on — but an impression is not a memory. Industry funnel data shows only a small share of exposures become recall, so a lit car top wins when it pairs a big, simple message with the right city and daypart. Compare on cost-per-memory, not the headline impression count.

See full costs · does it work · by city.

Car top advertising: FAQ

What is car top advertising?
Car top (or “top of car”) advertising is an ad panel or screen mounted on a vehicle roof — a taxi, a rideshare car or a fleet vehicle. It comes in two forms: a static top (a printed, sometimes backlit sign) and a digital LED car top (a screen that rotates creative, dayparts and geo-targets). Because the car is always moving through the densest parts of a city, one rooftop unit generates on the order of 100,000+ impressions a month.
Static car top vs digital LED car top — which is better?
A static car-top sign is cheapest and always shows one message. A digital LED car top costs more per impression but changes creative remotely, dayparts (a coffee ad at 8am, a dinner ad at 6pm), geo-targets by zip and can trigger on weather or events — and it measures recall and attribution. Buy static for cheap, broad, always-on reach; buy digital LED for relevance and provable results.
Which companies do car top advertising?
The main car-top networks include Priority Outdoor, Firefly, Statements Media, POAD, AdQuick, Synergy Arabia, GoTransit Media Group, Ubiquitous Taxi Advertising and more — Firefly runs GPS-enabled LED tops in major metros, Uber OOH runs official cartops in seven US markets, and Curb runs programmatic “smart” tops on NYC yellow cabs via Vistar. See the full company directory to compare coverage, CPM and measurement.
How much does car top advertising cost?
Static car tops start near $150 per cab for four weeks; digital LED tops run higher and are priced on CPM by daypart and city. In premium markets like NYC, DOOH CPMs range from about $7 programmatic to $75+ in prime spots. Compare on cost-per-memory, not sticker CPM.
What’s the difference between a car top and a taxi top?
A taxi top is a car top specifically on a licensed taxi. “Car top” is the broader term — it also covers rooftop units on rideshare and fleet vehicles. In NYC, city rules push cartop inventory onto yellow taxis (rideshare cartops are barred), so there the two overlap; in most other markets, car tops run on both.
Are car top advertising signs allowed everywhere?
No — rules vary by city and are set by the municipality and the fleet/operator. Some cities restrict rideshare cartops (NYC is the notable example). The network you buy through handles device approval and any local permit. Check our regulations guide.

Sources: company coverage/CPM per each profile; impression volumes & funnel — Geopath / Digital Signage Today; NYC DOOH CPM — DASH TWO / AdQuick benchmarks; NYC rideshare-cartop rule — NYC TLC.

Independent, unpaid guide by an out-of-home-experienced editorial team — no company paid to appear, no referral fees. Figures are ranges and change; verify with each company. Updated 2026-08-07.