Finding a taxi can be difficult if you’re not downtown. Taxi Magic, by letting you hail a taxi from your iPhone, makes this a must-have app for the road warrior. You can even pay directly from the app, if you choose the credit card option.
The app determines if Taxi Magic has any partner companies in the city you are visiting, with most major cities supported. Once it finds a taxi company, simply provide the location of where you wish to be picked up. Then choose how you will pay (credit card or cash), when you want the taxi to arrive and hit “Book.”
Taxi Magic will update you on the taxi’s progress and whether there are any issues.
There is one drawback: You need to type in your address for the cab to pick you up. The app does not take advantage of the iPhone’s GPS capabilities to provide your location.
Still, this app is extremely useful if you’re in a city you’ve never visited. I used Taxi Magic in Austin, Texas, for the 2009 South by Southwest conference. Taxi Magic got me back to my hotel with no hassle.
You’ll love this app for cities like Austin, where cabs are not plentiful. But if you’re visiting New York or Chicago, you still can’t beat sticking up a hand to hail a cab.
