Uber is piloting a telephone dispatch system in Pinellas County, Florida to allow potential riders who don't have smartphones to access the service by calling a hotline and making a booking. The new booking service is part of a local programme aimed at granting publicly subsidised Uber trips to low-income residents without access to transportation. In an interview with Reuters, Uber's chief executive Travis Kalanick said that his company was "exploring all options" for getting around its policy on using private cars while operating as a taxi As we reported earlier this year, Pinellas County became the first in America to offer subsidised Uber rides as a mass transit option to help commuters get to and from bus stations, in the hope of making public transport more accessible.
Uber is piloting a telephone dispatch system in Pinellas County, Florida to allow potential riders who don't have smartphones to access the service by calling a hotline and making a booking. The new booking service is part of a local programme aimed at granting publicly subsidised Uber trips to low-income residents without access to transportation. The Verge reports that Uber's adoption of a seemingly “old fashioned” telephone booking service could be seen as a sign that the ride-sharing platform wants to be “taken more seriously by public transit agencies as a complement – or even alternative – to existing mass transport options”. As we reported earlier this year, Pinellas County became the first in America to offer subsidised Uber rides as a mass transit option to help commuters get to and from bus stations, in the hope of making public transport more accessible.