Back in April, Uber announced a truly gigantic expansion plan. The American mobility giant – which, in the UK, already provides taxis, boats, scooters, bikes and food delivery services – said it would soon expand to include trains, coaches, car rental, flights and even hotels.
And now that plan is being put into action. Uber Travel launched yesterday (August 3) in the UK and sees the company team up with travel booking site Omio to provide long-distance train travel and coaches, all in one app.
Now, just to be extra clear: don’t expect to see Uber Rail or Uber Coach anytime soon. Omio’s functions will be fully integrated into the app, giving users access to about 1,000 train and coach suppliers around the world.
Excitingly, international trains like Eurostar will also be included in Uber Travel. In other words, you’ll soon be able to book a train from London to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Lille, all from the same app you usually use to get home from the club.
The idea behind Uber’s expansion is to enable customers to organise a journey with several different modes of transport and Uber functions all within one app. You’ll be able, for example, to not just time trains and taxis, but also to combine them with food delivery services.
All of which, depending on your point of view, probably either sounds dreamily convenient and stress-free or an all-consuming Uber nightmare. As for flights and hotels, Uber is taking its expansion one step at a time. The app doesn’t offer those yet, though they’re expected to follow in the coming months.
The UK is the first country to get Uber Travel features, though Uber says they’ll be rolled-out to most users by the end of August.
ICYMI: these are all the strikes at European airports you need to watch out for this summer.
Plus: British Airways has suspended short-haul flight sales – here’s everything you need to know.