Toyota Provides Free Wi-Fi at City Parks in LA

Far beyond the car realm, this is really cool news if you visit these parks.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Aug. 14, 2014



The City of LA’s Parks and Recreation department revealed that thanks to Toyota and American Park Network, free public Wi-Fi is now available at six popular LA area parks and beaches. This comes on the heels of a similar announcement last week by authorities in New York State of a program in four highly-visited parks there, as well as one in New Jersey.



The free service, called Oh, Ranger! Wi-Fi, is part of a pilot program made possible through the support of the Toyota Prius PHEV-11. All of the equipment, including installation, is being provided at no cost to taxpayers as a function of this public-private partnership between the Parks Departments, Toyota and American Park Network.



This program represents the first time Wi-Fi has been installed in Los Angeles city parks and is a small but meaningful step towards providing free, universal access to wireless broadband throughout all of Los Angeles.



Oh, Ranger! Wi-Fi is currently available at six of the most highly visited city parks across LA including the Griffith Observatory and Venice Beach. The parks that are participating in the first phase of this pilot program are Venice Beach, Pershing Square, Griffith Observatory, Cabrillo Beach, Echo Park Lake and Reseda Park.



In New York, free Wi-Fi is now available to the public in Niagara Falls, Jones Beach, Saratoga Spa and East River State Parks. Collectively, the four parks see more than 18 million visitors each year, and account for thirty percent of total visitation across the New York State Park system. Meanwhile, the service is also available at Liberty State Park in New Jersey.



Visitors at the participating parks will be able to access the Wi-Fi in two easy steps. Users simply select “Oh, Ranger! Wi-Fi” under available Wi-Fi networks on their smart device, then accept the standard terms and conditions.



I thought this was cool news and hopefully will one day visit one of these areas to grab some free Fi in our own Prius PHEV-11. :)

Toyota Provides Free Wi-Fi at City Parks in LA