Smartphones and tablet devices have gotten to the point where they’re some of the most impressive little machines that we might possibly hope to carry around with us, and as such they’ve really started to change a lot of the ways that we do things on a daily basis. In particular, the smartphone and tablet revolution (or perhaps just the mobile device revolution, in general) has really changed the way that business and communication happen. More and more people are able to do things on their phones that they couldn’t do unless they were in a store or at the comfort of their own home. Food can be ordered, movie tickets can be purchased, and airfare can be reserved, all from the backseat of a taxicab or from the balcony of your hotel room. Most of the innovations and improvements given to us by all this mobile technology have really done a lot for us in terms of making the things that we do every day easier and more efficient. As such, more and more governments and local organizations are looking to adopt smartphone- and tablet-oriented programs that can really bring municipal functions into the twenty-first century. New York is hoping to really lead the charge in this area, and is aiming to do so by introducing a new smartphone application that lets users electronically hail yellow taxi cabs using their mobile devices. What was once something you could only obtain by standing on the street corner and waving until a cabbie noticed you is now something you can have brought to you with a few taps on your touch screen. This development, however, doesn’t look to be promising for everyone.

While most consumers are excited that they’ll have a lot less to do before they’re able to hail their next taxi, other livery drivers and car services are not too excited at how easy it’s going to be to find a cab that’s just around the corner. Presently, a lot of car services and livery drivers do a good deal of their business as a result of taxicabs being relatively tough to obtain in certain situations. When an individual can’t easily hail a cab, they’re more likely to hire a car service or driver, but this new application stands to change all that. If it’s popular when it’s introduced in February, the ease with which a yellow cab can be hailed might very well send black car services and livery drivers out of business.

The implications of this new application likely won’t be felt as far off as your local Mercedes dealer, but many New York business owners are worried about what it will mean for their livelihoods. With yellow taxis easier to hail than ever before, the many car services and livery drivers that make their money in New York are left hoping that they will still have enough business to keep them afloat through 2013. You can visit the official website here.