The world-famous taxi service Uber has presented a new feature that lets travelers to book a ride 30 days in advance. The new feature Uber Reserve is starting this week in 20 US cities, The Verge has learned.
For Uber, booking a taxi in advance isn’t the entirely new idea, in fact. Over four years, Uber has been letting customers schedule rides in advance. But now, the company has changed its tune, and its algorithm, to improve the matching process. Following that thorough work, the drivers aren’t being forced to choose between scheduled rides and on-demand ones.
In 2020, the feature got a new brand name, some notable tweaks to how drivers are connected with riders. As an addition, there is a service fee to incentivize drivers to accept these advance bookings.
This week, 20 American cities are welcoming the new Uber Reserve. In comparison with its earlier versions, the process for booking a scheduled ride is much more streamlined now. Rides can be booked as much as 30 days in advance but no less than two hours before the scheduled pickup.
The customers don’t feel too pressured now, there are 15 minutes of wait time built into the pickup. Additionally, if something goes wrong and the driver doesn’t make it, client will receive $50 in credit to use in the Uber app.
“There’s still very much this need for certainty and assurance and reliability,” said Geoffrey Tam-Scott, product manager at Uber, “maybe even more so during the pandemic.”
