Uber, the online ride/ride share service is to trial advance bookings with a Scheduled Ride Feature.
Get an Uber
‘Get an Uber’. Now an omnipresent statement around the world. But for some people, with early morning flights for example, they prefer the reassurance of going to bed knowing that the taxi is pre-booked and they don’t need to take their chances in the morning.
Well now Uber is offering its customers advanced bookings, with people being able to request rides 30 minutes to 30 days ahead of time through the Scheduled Ride Feature.
Using the new service
Uber announced the new initiative on Thursday. It is being rolled-out initially in Seattle with the UberX service (this is the budget version, and most popular offering).
As expected, you don’t need a degree in rocket science to operate the Schedule Ride service. Choose a pick up time, choose a pick up location and your destination, all in a few simple taps of the phone.You can edit or cancel trip anytime up to five minutes after the driver has started on their journey to collect you.
Once logged you will get the base fare estimate, but remember the cost of the journey will only be confirmed at the time of the journey. Uber have stated the prices will be the same, but you will be subject to surge pricing if that is in action at the time of your journey.
Surge pricing sees Uber raise the price of a journey during busy times, ostensibly to encourage more drivers to get on the road.
If passengers do not want to pay the surge pricing, they can cancel the ride without a penalty within five minutes after the driver confirms he is on his way. After the five-minute mark, a cancellation fee applies which varies from city to city, (in Seattle it is $5).
New direction for the company
Uber has revolutionized the taxi industry. By using available technologies, they have offered a more convenient service at a cheaper price. In New York City, there are now more of their cars on the road than the iconic yellow taxis.
But this is a change of direction. The company has been built on immediate requests, metaphorically hailing a taxi with your phone. Uber’s Global Experiences Director, Tom Fallows said of the new venture, “Even though we’re an on-demand company, we totally get it.”
