Given its way, ride-hailing platform Uber plans to make it easier to get a ride home from the airport. As per reports, Uber will now be able to track your flights, so as to keep a ride ready for you when you land. The firm has announced on Wednesday that it will now let users book a ride up to 30 minutes in advance by feeding their flight information into the app. The feature will also be available to users who prefer the more expensive Uber Black and Black SUV.
At Your Beck and Call
The app will automatically be able to alter the reservation if your flight gets delayed or lands early. Drivers for all reservations will wait up to an extra 60 minutes for users, and that too, at no additional costs. This will provide you with extra time to walk through the airport and pick up your luggage from the baggage claim.
These new options may allow users to skip the long wait times that had been brought about due to driver scarcity during the pandemic, and might even allow Uber to compete better against Lyft.
The new option will be available under the “Reserve” tab in the Uber app, and is being rolled out to riders using more than 20 airports across the United States.
At An Airport Near You…Soon
This comes even as Uber is trying to expand its advance-reservation program. Airport reservations had not been included when Uber Reserve made its debut last year. The tool can allow users to to reserve a ride up to 30 says in advance, provided they book either an Uber Black or an Uber Black SUV. A reservation fee has been included in the fare, and can vary from city to city.
While Uber has said that it plans to roll the airport reservation feature out to more airports in the near future, for now, airports in Washington, D.C., New York, Miami, Dallas, Orlando, Nashville, Seattle, Chicago, and Atlanta have been enrolled in the program.
With air travel slowly picking up pace again after lagging for quite a while owing to the COVID pandemic, flight commuters have been complaining of long wait times, in addition to high fares and trouble finding rides. During its announcement, Uber also said that its airport rides hit a 2021 high last month. So the idea to allow for prior reservations at the airport does seem pretty smart at this point.
