by Ruth Barnett, skynewsA London cabbie has set up the first virtual taxi rank on Twitter.
Keen blogger Richard Cudlip has set up a "tweet a taxi" service on the microblogging site to save customers hunting for a ride home in vain.
A spate of Twitter friends contacting him to see if he was out in his cab inspired him to turn it into a business.
Last Friday, he created @tweetalondoncab, a collection of 30 drivers who met on the social networking site.
"All the people on Twitter love the idea and we've already got hundreds of followers," Mr Cudlip told Sky News Online.
"We haven't had a huge number of bookings - yet," he said.
Still a small outfit, Londoners should book at least 30 minutes in advance, he added.
Eventually, the cooperative hope they can expand and comprehensively cover the capital.
Customers must 'follow' the taxi service on Twitter and send a private message to make a booking, so that they do not reveal their location publicly on the internet.
When they receive a reply, they can liaise directly with the driver, rather than through an office.
"All the drivers have come through recommendations from other drivers so we know they're licensed black cab drivers," Mr Cudlip explained.
Twitter also allows the cabbies cameraderie during shifts as they share information about traffic or customer hotspots.
Other taxi companies and drivers are online, but most use the site to promote their switchboard number, rather than using it for bookings.
