Facebook Inc. on Wednesday will begin letting users hail Uber cars straight from its Messenger app, part of the social network’s push to open the messaging service to more forms of commerce.
Last night Facebook announced “Transportation on Messenger”, which integrates ride-hailing services into its chat app. Unsurprisingly, Uber has become the first partner, allowing users to order a ride entirely within Messenger, and receive receipts, status updates and the like, as part of conversations. The transport platform is still in testing in ten US cities, however other areas and countries are coming soon, as well as a partnership with American Uber-rival, Lyft, in January. In addition to these new features, Messenger also launched an app for Android phones that allows you to send messages directly from your phone, rather than through third-party apps.