Last week we wrote about the impending arrival of classy cab service, Uber. Today, it’s gone live. Those in Johannesburg will be able to see Uber cabs show up on the Uber app for iPhone and Android. The easy-to-use app gives an approximate arrival time for an Uber cab, too.

Once you’ve requested an Uber, it’ll show up in the given time frame; you can even track the cab as it nears your pick-up location. Hop in when it does, give the driver your destination, and off you go. At the end of the journey the cab fare is charged to the card you’ve used to sign up for the service.

Hopefully Uber takes off locally. The simplicity of hailing a cab with a smartphone app is far more appealing than some of the other phone-a-cab options. And besides, this way you get to fool strangers into thinking you’re Batman by shouting, “Pick me up” into your phone and having a car arrive a few minutes later.