London Offers Unique Ride-Sharing Service With Uber Boat
(Photo: Uber)
Bella Breakdown
London offers a wide variety of public transport including the tube, buses, ride-sharing services, and now Uber Boat. This new ferry service integration is the latest marketing program for Uber and offers a unique way to get around the city of London.
Rather than a ride-sharing service, this new program is actually a ferry integration program partnered with Uber. Uber Boat is made possible through the partnership with the city of London’s commuter ferry service, Thames Clippers, to help rebrand the Thames Clippers ferries to give travelers a unique option for public transportation.
The program utilizes the Thames Clippers ferry service that is integrated with the Uber booking system. The Uber Boat program is currently only operating on the River Thames in London in three zones – the west zone, central zone, and east zone.
Passengers book a ticket using the Uber app or get a ticket at any of the 23 pier locations along the Thames. Uber Boat isn’t exactly like the typical Uber services, passengers won’t be getting a private ride and they have a different hiring method.
Passengers looking to book a ticket on Uber, need to be within a certain distance near the piers to have the option appear on the Uber app. Once a passenger buys a ticket on the app, they have to activate the ticket that will last for 90 minutes as there is no specified time for the tickets.
Uber Boat tickets start at £4.50, passengers can take the scenic route from the Tower of London to Westminster for £7.20 and only takes 25 minutes. The same route would take 20 minutes cycling, 1 hour walking, and 30 minutes on the tube costing £2.40.
According to Uber, passengers will use the tickets for an entry that will go through QR scanners on the boats and at the piers. This program is apart of Uber’s integration with public transit systems.
Uber has previously offered “transit” ticket options in the U.S. in states including Las Vegas, Kentucky, Denver, and Ohio. Uber is utilizing existing transit infrastructures to provide more means of transportation outside of traditional ride-share options.
