August 9, 2005
SMS will tell you where to find nearest cabbie
In Reading, entrepreneur Mike Durham has created a service allowing customers to track the nearest black cab by sending a text message, reports the Evening Post.
Using a mix of satellite tracking and mobile technology, BeepTaxi links taxi drivers with customers so they don't have to go through a radio operator.
Clients only have to text their name and destination: the tracking system will find them and the closest cab driver will ring them back to arrange a pick-up.
The service costs £1 per text message and offers access to BeepTaxi's 80 licensed black cab drivers in the borough. The system stretches for five miles from the town centre and can also be used nationwide to put people into contact with the nearest taxi company in that area.
Landlines are to be linked to the tracking devices within the month, making the BeepTaxi system accessible from home. It is hoped BeepTaxi will catch on elsewhere in the UK.
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