Uber London is upping its game with the new launch of scheduled rides, allowing customers to book their rides up to one month in advance.
The immediacy of a taxi service is great when you need a quick ride at the last minute, but if you want to organize a trip it comes in handy to do so in advance. Starting on today, Aug. 25, Londoners no longer have to wait until the last minute to get an Uber ride, as they can schedule it beforehand.
The option is rolling out to business users at first, but it will become available to all customers within two weeks. With scheduled rides, Londoners will be able to book an Uber ride from 15 minutes up to 30 days in advance.
Uber first launched scheduled rides back in June in Chicago, promising to extend the courtesy to more locations in the future. London is now the first city in Europe to feature the option.
"We get it. Sometimes you want to schedule a pickup in advance so you can rest assured an Uber will be available when you need it, especially if it's for a 4am ride to the airport," says Uber. "With Scheduled Rides you can request your Uber 30 days to 30 minutes ahead of time and have the comfort of knowing your Uber will be there when it's time to head out."
Before the upcoming rollout to the general public, Uber is currently making scheduled rides available to customers with an Uber for Business account or a Business Profile. Booking a ride in advance will be simple and straightforward, requiring just a few taps to set everything up and confirm the pickup time, date, location and destination.
Launching scheduled rides in London enables Uber to better compete against rivals, as many Londoners have been using competing services such as Gett, Addison Lee and others such in order to book rides in advance. This should get Uber a bigger piece of the action, likely boosting its customer base and its footprint on the market.
For customers, meanwhile, the option not only adds more convenience but also some peace of mind knowing that it's all scheduled beforehand.
Uber doesn't offer a specific date for when the option will become available to all customers in London, but it will not take more than a fortnight. Will you be using scheduled rides to book your Uber in advance?
