Uber has been making quite a name for itself with its fleet of private Town Cars you can order straight from your smartphone. But, high-end luxury shuttles only account for a tiny fraction of the car service market. A much larger piece of the pie is owned by the humble taxicab. Uber Garage is the company's new workshop for experimental new features and services, and the first product of the labs is a taxi service for UberChicago customers. With more cabs per-capita than anywhere else in the US and the second lowest rates in the nation, it was the logical choice for a launch location. Taxi drivers who take part in the program will get alerts when an Uber user wants a cab. Rather than wave and whistle and wait on a busy corner, a user simply fires up the Uber app and demands a ride. There's no cash to exchange or credit card to swipe -- drivers a paid by Uber direct, and the fare includes a 20-percent tip. Though, that doesn't mean you're not free to tip some cash on top of the default gratuity. If you're in the Chicago area and have taken advantage of an Uber Taxi, let us know how it went in the comments.

Uber tackles Taxis in Chicago with Uber Garage experiment originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.