Uber overnight held its annual GO-GET conference. Not to be confused with the car-sharing service Go Get, GO-GET is a way for the taxi-eating company to showcase some new features it will be rolling out, with CEO Dara Khosrowshahi coming straight out the gate with the statement: “While we’re huge believers in AI, I know some of you will be disappointed that we’re not going to be talking about AI technology today. What you’re going to see has been built by humans, for humans”.
One built-by-humans-for-humans feature is the ability to ‘hail’ an Uber. It’s called 1-833-USE-UBER but it’s only available in the U.S. for now. In a blog post, Uber described 1-833-USE-UBER as a way for people to call for a car, like they would a taxi. Khosrowshahi said he understands not everyone is comfortable using a phone, or an app, to call an Uber (it’s not calling, it’s booking, grinds my gears).
“We often hear from riders about family members who want to use Uber but aren’t as familiar with navigating a smartphone,” the blog explains. “Now, everyone in the family can enjoy the same effortless Uber experience, even without the app. For U.S. customers it’s as easy as dialling 1-833-USE-UBER (1-833-873-8237), toll-free, to speak with an agent in English or Spanish, and request a ride on-demand or reserve one for a future trip.”
We’ve reached out to Uber in Australia to see when, if at all, the feature is coming down under, but it would be a great way to allow those not comfortable using an app to save the cash you do with choosing an Uber in Aussie cities over a taxi.
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GO-GET kicked off with a vlog of a family who call themselves the Kardashians of the Bronx. The point was to show how Uber’s new features work. First was Family Profile. Basically, it allows you to link multiple Uber accounts together, which gives a centralised location for payment as well as for seeing where family members are along a trip.
Next feature shown at Uber GO-GET was Group Rides, which, in select cities, and no word on whether it’s coming to Australia, of course, you’ll be able to invite others to add their addresses on a group trip. Each person will be charged for the time they spend on the trip, which removes that awkward asking people to contribute thing.
There’s also Teen Accounts, which allows parents/guardians/caretakers of 13-17-year-olds to manage their accounts but not in an overbearing kind of way. Teen Accounts will only allow screened and experienced drivers (those with high ratings) to complete trips with teens, the accounts will also have a handful of built-in, privacy-preserving features including Verify My Ride, RideCheck, Audio Recording, and live trip tracking, which lets a parent follow the trip’s progress. Caregivers can also contact the driver directly during a trip, contact Uber’s support team, or report an issue on behalf of the teen. It’s rolling out to select cities in the U.S. and Canada in the first instance.
“It’s all about helping you manage the ‘craziness’ that is family life in 2023,” Khosrowshahi said during Uber GO-GET.
New York City and Los Angeles customers will be able to book Ubers with car seats, it’s called, wait for it, Uber Car Seat, and in Greece, you can use Uber Boat to book a boat directly via the Uber app.
On the Uber Eats side, the new Group Grocery Orders feature will allow multiple people in the one household to add items to a cart, paying for their own items.
Not bad, just bring this stuff to Australia…please.