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Though Uber is usually associated with for-hire vehicles that will take you from one place of your choosing to another place of your choosing, the company just unveiled a new service that might sound familiar to the car-free among us.
“Looking for a more affordable ride to get to a concert or the airport?” the company asked on its blog Thursday. “Your Uber Shuttle is arriving soon! Uber Shuttle lets you reserve a seat on a local shuttle service, along with others heading to the same destination, all for a fraction of the price of an UberX.”
Sounds an awful lot like a bus!
Though Uber has attempted similar products in the past like with UberHop, which GeekWire reports was shut down in seven months, and UberPool Express, Uber’s general manager of Uber Shuttle, Anthony Le Roux, didn’t mention those efforts when he discussed the shuttle service at Uber’s 2024 Go-Get product showcase.
The company has already launched similar services abroad in Egypt, Nigeria, and India. Now it’s bringing the concept to the United States. CNN reports that the service will launch in cities like Chicago, Miami, Charlotte, and Pittsburgh. The company will also be partnering with venues like Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium and others.
“We designed Uber Shuttle to complement public transportation,” Le Roux said. Studies have frequently shown that doesn’t turn out to be the case with ride-share solutions. Still, a gif on the blog post announcing the service shows a route from Charlotte’s Freedom Park to the city’s PNC Music Pavilion. Though the route is possible via public transportation, it is a notoriously difficult journey without a car because of insufficient investment in the city’s bus and light rail systems.