Uber has taken another jab at taxis by introducing a new service upgrade, which allows customers to pre-book or schedule their rides in advance. The new feature of the service will begin in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane with no plans of expansion just yet.
Customers are now able to book a ride from up 30 days in advance, ensuring that they will arrive at their destination on time. The feature can be accessed under the ‘uberX’ tab before selecting ‘schedule a ride’. Customers will then be asked to add their selected location, time, pick-up date and destination with no booking fee. This move by Uber will appeal more to potential passengers as they no longer have to wait for the designated driver to arrive.
“Scheduled rides is the top-requested feature from our riders, especially for times like early morning trips to the airport,” Uber stated.
Confirmations are sent 24 hours and 30 minutes before the Uber’s arrival and then 5 minutes before the driver has dispatched. Customers do have the option to cancel the ride within 5 minutes of the Uber’s initial dispatch or will otherwise have to pay a $5 cancellation fee. However, this new upgrade will now make it slightly more difficult for Uber to estimate the fare. It will now have to provide customers with an estimated fare until the ride has actually commenced.
The service is currently not available for UberBlack and UberLux.
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