Uber now offering ‘scheduled rides’ in Triangle

Instead of yelling “Taxi! Taxi!” or sending a text for a ride on demand, Uber is now offering customers a pre-scheduled booking service in the Triangle.

The ride-sharing service is beginning the new offering today across the Triangle. Uber kicked off “Scheduled Rides” in other markets in June.

“When you’ve got somewhere to be at a very specific time, it’s nice to have extra assurance that a ride will be available when you need it,” is how a Uber spokesperson explains the service. He notes that scheduling is the “top-requested feature from our riders, especially for times like early morning trips to the airport.”

Previously, Uber riders had to use apps on demand – and hope a Uber driver was available.

How are Uber drivers made available?

“Uber has built scheduled rides on top of the on-demand platform, and the feature is no different for drivers,” a spokesperson explains. “When it’s getting close to the pick up time, the pickup request is offered to a nearby available driver.”

The process

Here’s how “Scheduled Rides” works, according to Uber:

“Select uberX and tap “Schedule a Ride.”
“Set your pickup date, time, location, and destination.
“Confirm the details of your upcoming trip and tap “Schedule uberX.” You can cancel at anytime before your ride is on the way.
Reminders will be sent “both 24 hours and 30 minutes in advance of your pickup. You’ll be notified after your ride is on the way, as well as whether surge pricing applies.”

“Since Uber’s magic of ‘push a button and get a ride’ launched 6 years ago, people have valued the ability to access rides on-demand through our app. But we’ve also heard from our riders that sometimes they want to arrange a pickup in advance so they can rest assured that an Uber will be available when they need it, even if it’s for a 4AM ride to the airport,” wrote Uber’s Russell Dicker in a blog about the scheduling service.

“We totally get it.”

Limited launch

Customers must still use an app, but rides can be scheduled in as little as 15 minutes in advance – or up to 30 days.

However, the offering is only available currently to Uber’s “Business Profile” and “Uber for Business” customers. Other riders can use the service within a few weeks, Uber says.

Customers can set up a “Business Profile” at Uber as long as they have an email address.

“Business Profiles ensure that work related rides can be automatically expensed by linking the correct credit card, email, and expense provider to your rides,” the spokesperson says.

Uber for Business is designed to help businesses manage their employees’ ride sharing expenses.

News

Uber now offering ‘scheduled rides’ in Triangle