Cabulous is a new service from UpStart Mobile , and UpStart’s mantra is – wait for it – yeah: “Don’t Be Creepy!” (It’s kinda like Google’s “don’t be evil”.)

Cabulous lets you see nearby taxis on your smartphone map – the exact location of actual drivers. But it does not let anyone see you. You reveal your position only when you hail a specific driver and choose to let him – and only him – see where you are. (Presumably at that point you want the driver to know where you are.) If you do nothing else, your position disappears after a few minutes, and not even we at UpStart Mobile can tell where you are.

Ruling from the prime directive judges: Not so creepy.
(Just kidding…there really aren’t any prime directive judges, though we are talking to Leonard Nimoy and Shatner about it.)

So if you are looking for a Taxi App – make sure that it passes the creepy test and doesn’t do things like send your position to a bunch of drivers you don’t know. The only driver who should see where you are is the one you hail.

This is the first time Cabulous was used to catch a real taxi.

The passenger was at Marina and Divisadero in San Francisco, spotted Cabulous driver Kieran Farr driving across town in the financial district and hailed with Cabulous. Kieran accepted the hail, and was able to see the passenger walking up to Lombard street. The cab and passenger met at Chestnut street.

The best part of the experience was how being able to confidently walk around and being able to see each other the entire time made the relatively long distance between hail and pick up location seem very short. Passenger didn’t have to wait in one spot wondering where the driver was, and the driver saw where the the passenger was walking… And saved four blocks in gas,thanks to the passenger walking towards the driver.

Cabulous – The First Ride