Need a cab? In NYC, there'll be an app for that

By the end of the year, city commuters could be able to get -- and pay for -- a taxi with a few taps of a cellphone.

GetTaxi, a smartphone app now being used by passengers in England, Russia and Israel, will announce its plans Wednesday to bring the free service to the city during the next few months.

Jing Wang Herman, who has a taxi license and is heading the company's U.S. launch, said she hopes to bring a "taxi revolution to New York." The app is being submitted this month to the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which is looking for a way to let riders pay their bill using a phone.

Herman said the service is like a digital dispatcher: People open the app, click to hail a nearby cab -- including requesting a handicap or hybrid car -- and then use GPS to map how far away it is. Users also can find friends or strangers to share -- and split -- the fare.

Current rules allow yellow cabs to accept only street hails, while liveries can offer prearranged pickups. A plan to legalize street hails outside Manhattan was halted by a judge last week.

A spokesman for the TLC said it would consider "anything that they thought was a new, innovative use of technology in taxi cabs," but said he could not comment on the company's proposal.---- amNewYork