Uber unveils tool that allows users to rent a CAR through the app, alongside a slew of new transportation features
- Uber's new features let you rent a car, reserve an e-bike and buy transit tickets
- The car rental program, Uber Rent, will begin in San Francisco later this month
- The bike share tool is only in two cities, while ticketing features will launch soon
Uber is becoming more than just an app to hail a ride.
The ride-sharing startup on Wednesday unveiled a slew of new services aimed at giving users more modes of transportation through its app.
Aside from hailing a taxi, users can now reserve an electric bicycle, or e-bike, rent a car and purchase a ticket for the subway or bus.
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Uber announced on Wednesday that it's rolling out a slew of new services in its app aimed at giving users multiple modes of transportation, including renting a car or bicycle
With the new features, Uber hopes it can address many issues plaguing commuters in cities.
'Having a greater variety of transportation modes at your fingertips helps make it increasingly easy to live without a car,' said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in a blog post.
'That's why we want to provide alternatives to personal car ownership by bringing together multiple modes of transportation right in our app,' he added.
To start, the firm is launching a pilot program called Uber Rent later this month in San Francisco.
Uber said it's partnering with peer-to-peer car sharing service Getaround for the program.
Users can 'instantly' find privately owned cars that are available for rent in the Uber app, the firm said.
People can rent SUVs, vans, sedans and other vehicles from the app by the hour or the day.
Uber is launching a new car rental service (right), where users can find a privately owned car and take it out for the day or for a couple hours. Users can also buy a transit ticket (left)
Prices are determined based on how long you want to rent the car for.
It is also expanding Uber Bike by JUMP to Washington DC, after the program was being trialed in San Francisco earlier this year.
Uber users in DC can find and book an electric bike directly through the app.
'We're particularly excited about JUMP Bikes because they can provide a convenient and environmentally friendly ride that's often faster, especially in dense cities where space is limited and roads can be congested,' Khosrowshahi continued.
The announcement closely follows the firm's announcement on Monday that it had agreed to buy dockless bike-share startup JUMP.
JUMP bikes are unlocked and locked using a smartphone app.
Because they are dockless, they can be left at any public bike rack, eliminating a lot of the infrastructure cost other bike-share companies incur, and their location is tracked via GPS.
Uber said it's trying to make it easier for people who live in cities but don't own a car. The firm announced new services that let users rent a car, take out a bike and buy transit tickets
HOW WILL UBER'S BIKE SHARING FEATURE WORK?
Pictured is the bike rental feature of the Uber app
Users select a nearby bike using the map found in the Uber app.
They are sent a PIN to unlock the bike they choose.
When customers reach their destination they can leave their rented bike at any public bike rack.
A bike zone is labeled on the Uber map, and customers must leave rented bikes inside the outlined area.
If a rented bike is left outside the area, users will incur a fee.
The company currently offers Jump bike rides in Washington D.C., San Francisco and other California cities.
The service will soon be rolled out in Europe.
Customers can take 30-minute trips for $2 a ride in the US. Prices for Europe have yet to be announced.
Capping off a blitz of new features, Uber also announced a partnership with Masabi, a British firm which offers mobile ticketing services for public transport companies.
It lets customers book and use transit tickets in the app for public transport services like buses, subways and trains.
Within the year, users should be able to buy and use tickets within Uber's app, Wired reported.
Right now, Masabi offers its services for public transit systems in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and some international cities.
The moves come as Uber has scaled back its ambitions in another mode of transportation -- self-driving cars.
The firm paused development of the technology after one of its autonomous vehicles was involved in a fatal crash last week.
The incident is being regarded as the first fatal crash involving an autonomous car.
Uber immediately suspended its self-driving vehicle testing in Arizona, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto.
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