Uber is celebrating its rebirth. His boss Dara Khosrowshahi welcomed seeing the end of the pandemic during a pre-recorded and lightning-fast conference. The company lived through two dark years during which it had to lay off employees and reorganize its activities. But today, Uber Eats continues to grow, and its drivers are back on the road thanks to tourism rebounding and a record number of upcoming weddings.
Robots on roads and sidewalks
Uber is launching two autonomous delivery programs but only in Los Angeles and even, more specifically, in Santa Monica and West Hollywood. There are no plans to go further at this time. It is robots from the company Serve Robotics that will ensure short-distance deliveries and only on sidewalks. They will be accompanied by an operator.
There will also be deliveries via self-driving cars. They will be vehicles of the Motional brand which is a joint venture between Korean Hyundai and Irish Aptiv. The fleet is said to be under construction. A surprising choice since Uber had its own autonomous car division which it had sold at the end of 2020 but in which it had continued to invest large sums. Here again, journeys will be made safe by the presence of an operator on board to regain control of the vehicle in the event of a problem.
Deliveries to the Rennes stadium
It will become possible to have meals delivered to stadiums with Uber Eats, the idea being to avoid getting up and queuing at the bar during a match or event.
Cock-a-doodle Doo ! Outside of the United States, the only place where this functionality will be available will be the Roazhon Park stadium in Rennes. It will be accessible across the Atlantic in Los Angeles (Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium), New York (Yankee Stadium), Washington (Capital One Arena), Houston (Minute Maid Park) and San José (PayPal Park).
More integration with Google services
Uber Travel will make it possible to make all the reservations for a trip at once: hotel, restaurant, trains, coaches, car rentals, plane. This will require linking his Gmail account to his Uber application. Uber Travel will initially be booked in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The voice assistant Google Assistant will finally be available in Uber Eats to order your meal by voice. But only in English to begin with.
More options for ride reservations
The Uber Charter service will be launched this summer in the United States to book group trips and even nightclub buses.
It will also be possible for an event to edit vouchers. If you are getting married or are organizing a party, you can, for example, book trips for your guests by limiting the perimeter and you will only be debited if they actually take place. Guests will then only have to enter a code to take advantage of it. The practice will be extended to Uber Eats with meal vouchers for delivery.
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Even more electric cars
Dara Khosrowshahi has not glossed over the environmental problem posed by the carbon emissions of all these VTC trips and these expanding deliveries. But his response is essentially to ensure that Uber’s fleet will become more and more electric. Not sure that’s enough to become zero carbon as the company guarantees for 2040.
Because in the meantime, Uber is launching Comfort Electric, an option that allows you to request a ride in a high-end electric vehicle like a Tesla or a Polestar. It will be available in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Dubai. Of course, there is an additional cost.
This should encourage users to make even more trips by private car. Which is not at all desirable for the environment, even if the vehicle is electric.