Uber will begin selling its ride-hailing software to public transit agencies in a bid to shore up more revenue
- The company announced its first partnerships this week
- Marin County will be one of the company’s first customers
- It will use the software to coordinate four wheelchair-accessible vans
- Riders will be able to book trips via the Uber app
- Uber says it is in talks with dozens of other agencies around the world
Uber will turn to licensing its own software in an unprecedented bid to bolster revenue sources.
The ride-hailing giant announced its plan this week and plans to start with selling software to public transit agencies.
Among the first entities to partner up with Uber is California’s Marin County, which will use the software to help run four wheelchair-accessible vans starting on July 1, according to Bloomberg.
Uber will begin selling its software to public agencies in an unprecedented move to bolster its increasingly dire revenue losses (stock)
Riders will be able to book trips via the vans through Uber’s app and the software will connect travelers headed in the same direction.
The rides will cost $4 per mile and $3 for those with mobility issues or disabilities and the full sum will go to Marin County according to the Financial Times.
Uber will reportedly charge the county on a flat monthly rate for two years for a sum not to exceed $80,000.
As a part of the deal between Uber and Marin County, users of the Uber app will also be eligible for discounts and vouchers for when they use Uber to travel the last-mile from transit stops.
‘This is not a one-off. This is a new product and a new business,’ David Reich, head of Uber Transit, told Bloomberg.
‘Together we want to make car ownership a thing of the past.’
While the partnership is small, Reich tells Bloomberg that the company is already in talks with dozens of transit agencies from across the world.
For Uber, the additional revenue from software licensing will come at a critical time.
Uber has attempted to build out other aspects of its business like Uber Eats in an effort to bolster revenue while coronavirus prevents normal levels of ridership (stock)
Disruptions caused by coronavirus have upended the company’s business which was already operating at a significant annual loss.
Last month, Uber cut 25 percent of its workforce and shuttered offices across the globe.
The company has also started to shed parts of its non-core business like e-bikes, sending thousands of the bicycles to the scrap yard last month.
As noted by the Financial Times, public agencies like Marin County, which has suffered from low ridership, may benefit from the partnership by making it easier for people to coordinate rides.