Uber announced Monday the launch of a new service allowing customers to reserve and pay for parking in major U.S. cities, about nine months after the ride-hailing company acquired parking app SpotHero.
The acquisition, announced in February, gives Uber access to a network of 13,000 garages, parking lots and valet services in more than 400 cities, the company said. And while Uber’s initial plans will focus on human drivers, the company also plans to leverage those parking spaces to help the dozens of autonomous vehicle companies it has partnered with.
Uber said the parking spaces could be used as staging and waiting locations for autonomous vehicles to help reduce congestion and deadheading, which refers to the miles a vehicle travels without passengers or paid cargo on board.
For now, the company plans to focus on commuters driving their own vehicles. Uber said it will initially launch in 15 U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, DC.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi indicated earlier this month that the company wanted the app to be more relevant to commuters.
“Commuting is one of our most important categories,” he said during Uber’s third-quarter earnings conference call. “And being able to offer commuters an Uber to work, a surge pass and parking if they want it when they want to drive is a great example of our ability to grow our inventory of services for commuters who are one of our core customers.”
The parking service is the latest in a series of efforts by Uber to create an ecosystem of products that keep customers engaged with its app for everything from calling a ride and ordering food and groceries, to packing delivery, car rentals, hotel reservations and connecting users to public transportation and robo-taxis.
Uber’s membership program, called Uber One, is a key part of this strategy. Uber One attracts subscribers by offering rewards and credits, benefits that have helped the program grow to more than 55 million members as of September 30. For example, Uber offers its members the opportunity to earn 10% in credits on eligible parking reservations. These credits can then be used for rides and Uber Eats orders.
Uber Parking is accessible directly from the app’s home screen. Users can enter their destination, select the date and time they need to park, then view the options on an interactive map. Users can filter results to find self-parking, valet parking, garages or surface lots. All prices are displayed in advance.
Once a user finds a parking space, they can book it after entering their vehicle details and use the payment method in their Uber wallet. Once arriving at the parking space, users will scan a unique QR code or enter using license plate recognition. Uber said users will be able to cancel their reservations for free up until the start time.
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