Uber is expanding its travel options (opens in a new tab) by giving people the ability to pay for car rentals and buy train, plane and bus tickets, but only in the UK.
Uber says the reason for the change is to make it easier to plan trips across the country, as it will act as a kind of central hub instead of dealing with numerous apps and websites. You can have it all in one app.
The official list of all the rail, air and other travel partners that will participate in the Uber service has not yet been revealed. The full list will arrive in the coming months before the service officially launches in the summer of 2022.
In the same announcement, Jamie Heywood, Uber's regional general manager for the UK, Northern and Eastern Europe, said the changes were a "natural progression." Heywood notes that people “have already been able to book rides, bikes, boat services and scooters on the Uber app…” for years. He added that Uber will integrate hotel reservations later this year.
The announcement also makes it clear that Uber does not provide these services itself; there will be no Uber Train or Jet driven by a pilot. It's just a travel agent function.
Outside of the UK, Uber has not said or hinted whether or not the all-in-one ride service will travel to other countries and cities.
This is not a random change, as Uber is well known for integrating new services with the goal of becoming more than just a transportation app and a Do Everything app.
In early March 2022, Uber introduced its Uber Explore feature in the app that allows people to experience local nightlife, as well as make dining reservations and view reviews of these places. From there, Uber asks you to book a ride to a nightclub or use Uber Eats to order food.
Uber is a company that tries to integrate as much as it can because it has a long history of bleeding money and massive net losses.
According to its results for the third quarter of 2021 (opens in a new tab), Uber posted a net loss of $2400 billion thanks to bad investments. Its fourth quarter (opens in a new tab) was much better, with the company posting a net profit of €892 million.