It’s part of a ‘super app’ strategy CEO Dara Khosrowshahi described a few years ago.
According to The Financial Times, Uber plans to expand its ride-hailing business in the UK this year by adding trip booking via flights, trains, and other modes of transportation. The new service aims to give a “seamless door-to-door experience,” allowing you to book your flight, train, and Uber all in one place. According to CNBC, the company will do so by integrating its algorithms with airlines, intercity bus and rail carriers (including Eurostar Channel Tunnel tips), and car rental providers.
The UK is one of the company’s largest markets outside the US, so the expansion is a big step. “You have been able to book rides, bikes, boat services and scooters on the Uber app for a number of years, so adding trains and coaches is a natural progression,” said Uber UK general manager Jamie Heywood. “Later this year we plan to incorporate flights, and in the future hotels, by integrating leading partners into the Uber app to create a seamless door-to-door travel experience.”
This “super app” strategy isn’t new, as CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said he wanted Uber to be the “Amazon of transportation,” when he first joined the company. Prior to the pandemic, around 15 percent of Uber trips were higher-margin rides to or from airports. “With COVID behind us, with this big push into new modes of transport, we want to signal that this is a very important growth lever for us over the coming years,” Heywood said.Â
It’s not yet clear to what extent Uber will compete directly with other travel booking services, but Khosrowshahi was CEO at Expedia before coming to Uber. The company might have a leg up on rivals in that it could also offer a ride from airport to hotel, essentially owning the whole process.
Uber recently announced that it would let New York City users book Yellow Cab taxis directly through its app, with passengers paying around the same as they would for an Uber X ride. The company also plans to offer a similar service in San Francisco. It’s not clear yet, though, when or if Uber will offer its expanded travel booking service in the US.Â