Whether it is getting to the airport or over to a friend’s house for a dinner party, there is no doubt that Uber has transformed the ways in which we travel. As great as the service is, it certainly still has its shortfalls.
For example, when you need an early morning ride to the airport to catch a flight, hailing an Uber can sometimes be a challenge. It can be difficult to know how far in advance you need to request a ride to make sure you get there on time. Uber is working to change this problem with their recently announced advanced ride scheduling. Uber launched this service yesterday in the Seattle market with plans to roll it out to other cities around the country soon.
How does Advanced Ride Scheduling Work?
Uber users will now be able to schedule rides as soon as 30 minutes or as far out as 30 days before their transportation need. Using the Uber app, users will be able to set a pickup location, date, time & destination. The user will get a reminder notification from Uber both 24 hours and 30 minutes before their scheduled ride. As of right now, this service will only be available for UberX service. Riders can expect to pay the same rates they would for a non-scheduled ride; however, scheduled rides will still be subject to surge pricing at the scheduled time of the ride. Users will be able to cancel their scheduled ride up to five minutes after the car has been dispatched without incurring a cancellation fee.
As of writing this article, advanced scheduling will only be available to Uber riders who have a Business profile, although you will not need to pay for the ride with a business credit card. Setting up a business profile is very easy and can be done in less than a few minutes using the app.
Thrifty Tip #1: New to Uber? Sign up here and we will both receive a free ride.
Thrifty Tip #2: Be sure to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred card on all Uber trips as you earn 2X points on travel (which includes Uber). These points can be used to book flight deals from Thrifty Traveler!
Bottom Line
While Uber is not the first ride-sharing service to offer advanced ride scheduling (Lyft launched this in San Francisco two weeks ago but only allows scheduling 24 hours in advance) they are certainly the most notable. Thinking about the many times I have used Uber, there are many situations in which scheduling a ride in advance will be great. Hopefully, we don’t have to wait long for the service to be available nationwide!