Uber Begins the Unification of Intra-City Transportation

It is here – Uber has started the unification of intra-city transportation. Yes, Uber now has the ability for people to use Uber, the ride-hailing solution, and also use the app to pay for public transportation systems. In other words, Uber lets you buy transit tickets besides all the current benefits. The integration is to provide seamless experience for users by making it easier for them to use Uber to get to train station, and jump right into the train, without a need of queuing for train tickets since they could buy tickets via Uber app.

“For the first time ever, taking an Uber trip can mean taking public transit,” Uber Head of Transit David Reich said in a statement. “We are excited to expand our collaboration with RTD and Masabi  to make Denver the first city in the world where riders can purchase transit tickets and ride public transit seamlessly through the Uber app. With this step, we are moving closer to making Uber’s platform a one-stop shop for transportation access, from shared rides to buses and bikes.”

For transit, Uber is serving two sets of customers: agencies and riders. For both sets, Uber is aiming to increase efficiency, enhance the experience and increase equity and accessibility, Reich told TechCrunch earlier this year.

While Uber is only launching this in Denver today, Masabi handles ticketing for 30 transportation agencies worldwide, including Los Angeles’ Metrolink, New York’s MTA, London’s Thames Clippers and Boston’s MBTA. Uber also has relationships with a number of cities already.

Uber is expanding revenue base and will make life harder for Lyft to survive. I do believe that Lyft will give up soon by merging with Uber, or give itself up to a consortium of car companies which may need it to onboard users for the driverless future.

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