As the holiday season comes upon us, all the brands and apps are coming up with new features and products to ensure that we keep using them and also to make our lives a bit easier during this time of traffic and shopping jams, parties, gift-giving and all other shenanigans of the season. Uber has announced their holiday-related new features so that the next six weeks will be easier for both the riders and their driver partners as well.
You can now turn on Live Location Sharing so it’s easier for you and your drive to find each other, especially if you’re being picked up at crowded places like airports, malls, etc. Your driver will be able to see exactly where you are so they can adjust if needed. Just tap on the grey icon on the bottom right and you will go live. When the icon is blue, this means you’re sharing your location. Cars that have the Beacon device are also expanding so if you match with a driver that has it, you can easily identify the car by the color you choose for their glow.
You can also now request a car for a guest, even if they don’t have an Uber account. Just type in the Where To bar as per usual, then choose who you’re booking the ride for. They will then receive an SMS with the details of their ride like ETA, car type, and contact info of their driver so they can get in touch with them directly if needed. There’s now no need for you to either force your mom or your friend to install the Uber app and you don’t need to be the mediator between the driver and your guest.
Lastly, you can now gift someone with Uber credits, and these days, that’s a very convenient and useful gift indeed. Tap the menu then choose “Send a Gift” and then choose the amount you want to give to someone. Choose the recipient and send a message then you can either send it immediately or at a later date. The amount will, of course, be charged to your credit card on file.
SOURCE: Uber