Text for a Cab With GoFastCab
Sometimes it can be a bit trying to get a taxi dispatched to pick you up. It can be especially difficult when you are visiting a city that you do not know well. You pull out your phone and search for a number to call and then you have to give your location. Wouldn’t it be easier if you could text for a cab? You can with GoFastCab.
The GoFastCab service is now available in Chicago, Nashville, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego County and Charlotte (coming soon), with plans to expand to Phoenix, Tucson, San Jose and the Silicon Valley.
Using the service is as simple as sending your pickup address to 777222. GoFastCab will receive and process the request, dispatch a taxi driver to the pickup location, and text a confirmation message to the customer. A text message is also sent when your driver is at your location to pick you up. The GoFastCab service itself is free, although standard text fees and taxi fares are not.
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This is a very interesting service. How long before there is a good GUI on a smart phone to pull the GPS location and send the message using Google Voice SMS?
I believe it is already happening.
Mark — you are probably right … soon after though will be the location aware spam — “while you are waiting for your cab why don’t you come over to Starbucks for a coffee.”