Hoboken launches new virtual taxi hailing system

HOBOKEN AND BEYOND – Don’t want to walk downtown to the train station to hail a taxi cab? Now it’s not a problem.
The city of Hoboken launched a new virtual taxi hailing system this week, where cabs can be hailed right from your phone.
The new system works as follows: text “hail [address]” to 41411. The address must include “Hoboken NJ” at the end of the text, or “07030.”
For example, to hail a cab to the Hudson Reporter building, one would text “hail 1400 Washington Street 07030” to 41411.
The customer must send “s” afterwards, repeatedly if needed, to get the status of the hail until a driver accepts the fare, according to a release. If a driver accepts, the status message will tell the person the cab number to expect. Afterwards, text 1 through 5 to rate the service, with 5 being the best.
The city release states that it’s a pilot test with a few taxis, and some “bugs” are expected. Problems can be reported to taxi@hobokennj.org.
Zimmer is seen in the photo from her Twitter page after completing the first “virtual hail” by sending “hail 94 washington st 07030”. — Ray Smith