After grocery and payments, it’s time for Uber cabs on Whatsapp!
The digital era has brought us endless advantages in this modern world. Want clothes? Order from app. Want groceries? Order from app. Want to see a movie but don’t want to go out? Watch on apps. But now, things are going beyond the apps that are offering standalone services, indicating that we are moving closer to an ear of super apps, where shopping, chatting, video conferencing, payments and many other activities can be performed from on single app.
The latest development in relation to Uber and Whatsapp indicate that Whatsapp could be the frontrunner in capturing a sizeable share of the super app market.
Meta platforms Inc.’s WhatsApp and Uber Technologies introduced a service where you can easily book cabs via the mobile messenger service in India.
Uber in a release said, “Starting this week, we are rolling out a new service that gives people the option to book an Uber ride via an official Uber WhatsApp chat or.”
This integration of Uber and WhatsApp allows Uber to access mobility services by sending a message to a WhatsApp chatbox.
Although these services, for now, will begin serving the northern city of Lucknow to start but will expand to more locations shortly.
Although rides booking on WhatsApp is in only English for now it soon will cover diverse languages of India.
Nandini Maheshwari, senior director of business development at Uber, in a statement, said that “We want to make it as easy as possible for all Indians to take an Uber trip, and to do that we need to meet them on platforms they are comfortable with.”
Not to forget the fact that the Meta-owned messenger service, WhatsApp has more than half a billion users in India and is the largest single user base. The feature of cabs booking via Whatsapp has come shortly after JioMart, the digital outlet for Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail empire, collaborated with WhatsApp to roll out in-app grocery shopping for Whatsapp users.
However, users can now book their rides and receive trip receipts entirely on WhatsApp, and information such as Driver name, license plate and location en route to pick up will be included in WhatsApp, which makes Uber’s app unnecessary.
Uber further mentioned that there will be no changes at all in the safety features and insurance protections on rides booked on WhatsApp or Uber. In fact, in case of any emergencies, the chat flow of WhatsApp will also inform the rider about safety guidelines, including how to reach Uber.
In any case, users will receive an inbound call from Uber’s customer support team, when they select the “emergency” option during the trip. If needed, until 30 mins after the trip ends, Uber riders will also have access to the safety line numbers to call the Uber team.
After seeing the number of features integrated on WhatsApp for booking is its safe to say that “Uber on Whatsapp” have arrived!
