Uber offers appointments
Ride service rolls out program in Houston that allows riders to request pickups at specified times
The ride-hailing service Uber on Wednesday began letting select customers in Houston and two other Texas cities schedule appointments as it looks to assist time-crunched business travelers who need more certainty in their transportation.
“We totally understand there are certain times you’ve got to be somewhere at a very specific time, and you may want the extra assurance of being able to schedule a ride in advance,” said Sarfraz Maredia, general manager for Uber Houston.
Though Uber rose to household-name status by offering the immediacy of on-demand service, Maredia said scheduled trips has been one of the most requested features.
Ride scheduling was announced in June. In Houston, the service is immediately available to those who use Uber for Business or have a Business Profile. Both of these programs are designed to help employers and employees manage their Uber business travel.
Other Houston travelers will be able to schedule
rides in the coming weeks. The company also announced rollouts in Dallas and San Antonio.
This new feature comes just four months after Uber threatened to leave Houston because of the city’s requirement that drivers receive fingerprint background checks. Uber prefers another background-check method that uses publicly available data compiled by Social Security numbers.
Maredia and Lara Cottingham, public information officer for the city’s Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department, said Uber and city officials have been working together.
Maredia said he is “hopeful that we can find a way forward” and hopes the discussions will prompt the city to revisit its approach to regulating and licensing individual drivers. He said the cost and time of fingerprint background checks have affected the company. More than 20,000 people have signed up to be drivers in Houston and then not completed the city’s licensing process.
Cottingham said the city is working with Uber to streamline the licensing process and get more drivers on the road without compromising public safety.
In the past few months, she said, these changes have helped bring the average licensing process to eight days from 11. She said fingerprint background checks, however, will remain a requirement.
She also said a proposal will soon be presented to the Transportation, Technology and Infrastructure Committee to create a transportation app. This app would be a one-stop shop for Houston’s transportation options, which could include taxis, limos, pedicabs, Metro buses, event shuttles and Transportation Network Company licensees, like Uber or Get Me drivers.
A demand for scheduling Uber rides has already brought another company to Houston. Uzurv is an app that allows people to schedule Uber and Lyft rides. Ride-hailers can also choose their drivers. It has been in Houston a few weeks and has 62 local drivers.
Matt Donlon, founder and CEO of the Richmond, Va.-based company, created the app based on his experience as an Uber driver. Passengers told him their ideal scenario would be the Uber price with the reliability of a car service and the familiarity of a chauffeur.
App users can select drivers they already know or look through profiles and find drivers who meet their needs, such as being pet-friendly. They schedule a specific time and place through Uzurv, but they use Uber to book the ride once the driver arrives.
The app charges a fee for making this reservation. The introductory fee is 99 cents. After that, it costs $2 to $3 for each ride.
This is paid to Uzurv and is separate from the Uber charge.
“I think people really, really want the ability to have reservations and the peace of mind that the car is going to be there,” Donlon said.
A common reservation use is for trips to the airport. Before Uber launched its new feature, that trip was likely handled by a taxi company.
“Scheduled rides are often airport runs, typically the most lucrative runs for drivers,” said Dave Sutton, spokesman for the “Who’s Driving You?” campaign on behalf of the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association.
Cindy Clifford, spokeswoman for Yellow Cab Houston, highlighted Uber’s threat to leave the city.
“How reliable are they going to be?” she said.
She said Yellow Cab doesn’t have cancellation fees or surcharge pricing, the fare increase Uber issues during busy periods to get more drivers on the road.
Surcharges can affect Uber’s scheduled rides, and customers will be notified if surge pricing applies when the driver is on the way.
Clifford said Yellow Cab customers appreciate its reliability and safety record.
“It’s one of the most iconic brands in the world,” she said. “If you look at a yellow car, you know what that is.”
Maredia said people are using Uber in ways they didn’t previously use cabs. The transportation market is large enough for both.
“We think that competition, and choice, is a good thing,” he said.