Have SMS, will travel

Ever been stranded in a foreign city with no taxis to be found? A short message service - shown at the GSM Mobile Congress in Cannes - could mean your ride home is just an SMS away.

The idea is you send an SMS text message from your mobile saying where you want to go and you receive confirmation saying who the driver is, his mobile, the cab registration number and so on. The message also tells you how soon the cab will arrive. You get another SMS when the taxi arrives.

The software for U-go is being developed by Logica, a UK computer services company, but the idea and specification were dreamed up by brothers Lionel and Eli Cohen, of the London-based Obvious Solutions.

Lionel says: "We got the idea after having to wait so long for cabs in the city after working late. But we soon realised the service would be even more useful for people travelling abroad.

"Travellers don't need to know a local taxi number to use U-go and the instructions can be as simple as typing in the name of the place you want to be picked up from. Alternatively, using a phone with a built-in global positioning system like one soon to be sold by Benefon, users could just select 'Taxi' from a menu and it would relay their location to the taxi firm."

Obvious, Logica and Hewlett-Packard imported two London cabbies to ferry visitors around Cannes, where the largest European mobile phone exhibition is held every year. Tony Lazzam, one of the drivers, says: "It's in its early stages, but I think it could be a big success."

Obvious plans to sign up reputable local firms in major European cities and across the UK. The first two companies to sign are Radio Taxis and Addison Lee, a large minicab company, in London. Once the service goes live in April, users can register by typing in their mobile number and payment details at the service's web site.

They can also set up short cuts for regular trips so that, for example, "h" means pick me up from the home address specified and "h2w" means take me from home to work.

The SMSs are logged on a computer server run by Logica, which interacts with the cab companies' computerised despatch systems. For smaller operations, which still write everything on paper, Logica is developing an internet site they can use just for SMS bookings. SMSs are also used to send instructions to drivers.

Logica and the Cohen brothers hope to make money by charging users and cab firms an SMS booking fee of around 50p each and, if providing the service in conjunction with a mobile operator, they will get a share of the 10p SMS charge.

The service is still being refined. My booking to go from: Cannes station to GSM (my abbreviation for the Palais des Festivals et des Congres exhibition hall) was replied to quickly. But when I typed in "cash" in response to a request for a payment code, nothing happened, requiring a call to Eli Cohen's mobile. This may be because Obvious is planning to bill to credit cards or mobile phone bills.

Nevertheless, the service was good enough to wish it had been running after 6pm last Thursday. On a cold winter evening on the Cote d'Azur after the Nokia party, there were no taxis either at the taxi rank on La Croisette or at the Noga Hilton. One exhibitor from Wireless Entertainment Services said he had walked five kilometres to his hotel, swearing in Finnish all the way.

• From April the service will be available at: www.Obvious.com