Uber is one of the apex mega beasts of ride-hailing apps. It is today the largest ride-hailing service in the world, but it was not the first.
That title goes to Taxi Magic who launched in 2007, a full two years before Uber. But Uber has massively popularized the idea and grown into a worldwide sensation. Taxi Magic which then became Curb, and others doing a similar type of app around that time, have largely faded into the background.
Uber, of course, now encompasses much more than hailing a cab. It now includes a range of ride options from regular cabs to SUVs and limos and bikes or scooters. The company has also diversified into food delivery via its UberEats service, business travel, and freight haulage.
Given recent serious incidents, Uber is keen to push its commitment to safety and the establishment of a door-to-door safety initiative to ensure users feel safe every time they take a ride.
Building a Green platform
Uber announced that it would continue building on its 2020 key action areas to build a greener service.
As the world’s largest mobility platform, Uber said they were pressing further ahead to tackle the climate change challenge by reducing emissions and driving green recovery in cities.
Recently, Uber would expand Uber Green, its fleet of EVs and hybrids, to more than 1,400 extra cities and towns across North America. The one-dollar surcharge would be split evenly between the driver and initiatives to support electric vehicles’ adoption. Uber Green is also being added to Uber’s membership Uber Pass program and extends the 10% discount to Green rides.
Uber is also strengthening partnerships to make it easier and more affordable for drivers to switch to green electric vehicles.
Meanwhile, Journey Planning has been extended to 10 more world cities. You can now plan an entire journey using public transportation and walking in more than 40 cities worldwide.
Hail a ride from almost anywhere
Ride on-demand or book up to 30 days in advance
Wide range of vehicle types
Wide range of journey types
Price estimates before you book
Tip and rate your driver
Easy to use
Multi-language support
A vast number of ride options
Easy to find a ride within your budget
Good choice of vehicles/
You know how much you will pay before you confirm your booking
Prices can spike alarmingly at peak times
The Uber app is downloadable from Google Play and the App Store. You can also learn more about all the Uber services and create an account on uber.com before you download the app if you wish.
System requirements to use the Android app vary by device. The app is rated as 4.4 out of five from over eight million reviews.
The iOS app, meanwhile, needs 328.2 MB of your storage and iOS 12.4 or later. Over a million reviews have been left by Apple users of the app, resulting in 4.7 out of 5.
