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Using GPS to Hail Cabs

Posted by michael on from the almost-as-good-as-having-a-flying-car dept.

The Benefactor writes "The guys at The Register are running a story about using mobile phones to hail cabs in London. Using GPS technology to locate the nearest available cab and to direct it to where you call from this should make frantic arm waving to get their attention a thing of the past."

3 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Is this really necessary? by Hellkitty · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm all for utilizing technology to simplify and improve our quality of life, but come on. Walk your ass out to the curb and raise your arm over your head. If you rather spend 10 minutes fucking around with your GPS just so you can find the 2 cabbies who are geeky enough to use it, have fun. More power to you. But as far as I'm concerned, it's the equivalent of coding 10,000 lines just to produce "Hello, World".

  2. What would be really useful by Zog+The+Undeniable · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...is if GPS then tracks the cab to ensure American tourists aren't taken from Heathrow to central London via Slough.

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    When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
  3. Hmm.. and possible help against racial profiling by bigattichouse · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Many African Americans get left behind by cabbies avoiding "any black male" in certain parts of the city... By using this system, a caller would be able to signify whether they were actually *picked up* by their cab, and possibly assist in reprimanding cabbies that aren't doing their job... or pointing out (publically/online) which companies don't provide the necessary level of service. (By having a proxy website dispatch the calls)

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    meh