Uber Introduces New “Going My Way” Feature

By: Nick Gambino

Uber has just announced a new service/feature which allows drivers to pick up riders on their way to a personal destination. Meaning if Uber drivers are on their way to pick up a sandwich from the deli, they can pick up riders headed in that direction.

All the driver needs to do is set a destination and begin driving in that direction. Uber will automatically show requests for pick-ups going your way. In this way Uber drivers can now make money just running errands or doing day-to-day activities. This is especially beneficial to part-time drivers of which there are many.

In their announcement Uber had this to say, “Whether it’s commuting to the areas where rides are needed most, driving back home at the end of the day, or running errands around town, drivers can set their destination to earn fares that are along their route.” 

This will significantly up the number of riders in a day that an Uber driver can get. For the passengers themselves they can expect shorter wait times.

For any of you living in Washington D.C. or New York who are getting excited while reading this anticipating the convenience this is going to afford you, you might want to take a seat because there’s a catch. You sitting? Good. This feature is only currently available in San Francisco.

I know, right? What gives? Molly Spaeth, a spokesperson for Uber had this to say to TechNewsWorld about the new feature, “We haven’t announced when and where we will offer this feature next, but we are focused on rolling it out to additional markets.”

That makes it seem as though it’s more of a pilot which if successful will roll out to other locations, probably starting with highly populated metropolises like New York first.

So for you San Francisians, enjoy it, and for the Uber drivers out there, you lucky dogs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nick Gambino is a regular script writer and tech beat reporter for NewsWatch.  He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and daughter.