Uber Now Lets You Request A DC Taxi From Your Smartphone

If you've never heard of Uber before, it's essentially a startup company based in San Francisco that allows you to request a luxury car or SUV for pick-up and will take you where you need to go — similar to any taxi service, but without the offensive yellow paint scheme and all the advertisements. Today, the company announced that folks living in Washington DC can now use the service to order up a regular city cab right from their smartphones.

Starting today, users will be able to use the UberTAXI service to request a regular DC taxi to pick them up. Users can do this via their smartphones and even pay with a credit card through the app as well. Of course, the company will offer their regular services in the DC area as well, so if you need a town car for a ride, Uber will have you covered.

So far, though, Uber-dispatched cabs will only be available for trips starting in the District, but they'll be cheaper than a similar ride in a sedan or SUV, with passengers being charged a $2 taxi dispatch fee and 20% gratuity. The company notes that supply will be limited at first, since many taxis don't fit Uber standards yet.

Future plans for the DC taxi service weren't discussed, but we're guessing that if things go well for Uber in the US capital, we can only assume that the company will further expand in the area, as well as other larger cities. So far, Uber is already in a number of cities, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and London.