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Taxi Service in the Palm of Your Hand
Photo by didier burton via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
A lot of people have been getting a kick out of seeing the signs posted in Hollywood and other parts of town explaining how (not) to hail a taxi. For those who know the drill of reaching your arm up and leaning towards the street and hoping the next cab pulls up to the curb in front of you, the signs are precautions about what for many urbanites is second nature. If you're feeling unsure of raising your hand, though, you can now arrange for a cab with a different kind of hand motioning (no, not that, you rude beast!). GoFastCab is a company that has partnered with cab companies in cities around the US to provide taxis with text messages (in Los Angeles it's LA Yellow Cab). Process: Text your complete pick-up address to 777222 (777CAB), cab is ordered, you get sent a confirmation text. The service is free--not including your carrier's charge for text messages and the cab ride itself, of course. Let us know if you've used it, and what you think!
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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