Return of the fixed network? With this old idea, Uber wants to convince pensioners
Uber wants to open up target groups who are unfamiliar with apps
Quelle: Getty Images/d3sign
The travel agent is reviving a long-forgotten tradition from the old world of taxis. The company wants to reach seniors in particular. There’s news for parents, too, as Uber introduces features for 13-17 year olds.
Eactually it has long since gone out of fashion: calling a taxi. If you want to order a ride in a beige car, all you have to do in this country is dial the central telephone number.
With smartphones, however, taxi rides can long be called with a click – and not only with the classic headquarters, but also with US corporations such as Bolt, Lyft or Uber.
But of all things Uber is now reintroducing the long-forgotten taxi call. Users will soon be able to order a ride or reserve it for a later date via a short code. The offer is initially available in the USA, later probably also in Germany. So instead of continuing to go digital, Uber is taking a step back.
“Not everyone is familiar with using a smartphone or an app,” said company boss Dara Khosrowshahi at the presentation in New York. “Like my mother-in-law.” From now on, everyone could use Uber’s services, even without the smartphone app. An offer that is explicitly aimed at seniors.
Anyone who dials the number must give their contact details to a service employee at the other end of the line. Similar to the smartphone, a user profile is then created at Uber. Customers can then also give the pick-up location over the phone.
Telephone booking is just one of many innovations that the driving service intends to provide in the coming weeks. The group not only has senior citizens in mind, but also teenagers as a target group. In the future, 13 to 17-year-olds can open an Uber account that is under the supervision of their parents.
Even audio recordings from Uber vehicles should be possible
Adults can follow their children’s journeys live on their smartphones and contact the driver at any time. Even audio recordings from the car should be possible. In addition, only experienced and well-rated drivers are allowed to work with the young people.
The service is safe, promises security chief Mariana Esteves. “With teen accounts, busy parents can give their teens more freedom while not having to worry,” the manager says.
But Uber does not only want to win new customers in its core business with trips. The company is also creating new functions in other areas. The goal: a kind of super app in which Uber bundles numerous services. “We definitely want to build a super app,” said Khosrowshahi two years ago. The companies behind such applications have an “incredible market capitalization”.
In the future, group purchases will be possible with the food delivery service Uber Eats. Several users can put products in a digital shopping cart at the same time and then have them delivered. The bill can be automatically divided among the users.
And Uber is even targeting odd details: In the future, anyone who has a gift such as flowers or a box of chocolates delivered can also send the appropriate video message to the recipient. As soon as the delivery arrives, the clip with the congratulations is played on their smartphone.
Most recently, Uber has already rolled out additional functions in Great Britain – an important test market for the company. Uber recently integrated flight bookings into its own app there, after train and long-distance bus trips could already be ordered through the company.
Uber is busy on various construction sites
But on the way to becoming a super app, Uber also has to face a number of challenges. Rules are increasingly being imposed on the service, particularly in the United States. The Senate in the state of Minnesota, for example, passed a bill a few days ago that minimum wages for drivers and provides better protection against wrongful dismissal.
Because they operate as independent contractors, Uber or Lyft drivers are typically not eligible for benefits due to employees.
There is currently trouble on another front: Uber has now put its diversity and inclusion boss Bo Young Lee on leave after employees recently criticized an internal event. The manager is said to hold sessions about “being as White woman“, which in turn is said to have drawn displeasure from the African- and Hispanic-American employees, US media reports.
Despite the many new functions, Uber boss Khosrowshahi could not avoid a disappointment: Although the company believes very much in the use of AI, it will not introduce any new products with artificial intelligence, it said. At least not yet.
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