Friday, 25 March 2016

Uber's "Family Profiles" Feature Lets You Pay For The Rides Of Others

A quick history on the Uber company. I'm sure you know about Uber and what it does, or must have heard about it, or know someone that knows someone that uses the Uber service. Well, it's a multinational online transport network company based in San Francisco, CA, which develops markets and operates the Uber mobile app, which allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request which is then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars.
(This is me quoting wiki-you-know-who) *winks *.

The company was founded in March of 2009 by Travis kalanick and Garrett Camp with Travis kalanick as the CEO and has since grown to be a worldwide brand offering consumers like you and I, car hiring and private taxi services through Uber drivers around you and offering interested car owners, an opportunity to run their own taxi or car hire services.
Basically, it works like a dispatch service and sends the nearest Uber driver to your location. Easy Peazy, Lemon Squeezy!

Uber recently released Instant Pay - a pilot program - that allows its drivers to immediately access cash earned, using a third-party mobile banking service called Gobank. It's only available in some cities for a start.
Now, onto its Family Profiles feature. The on-demand car service announced a few days ago, its new feature called Family Profiles which is designed to make it easier for its customers to pay for the rides of their friends and family. A really good idea as this was one of Uber's most frequently requested features by its users. This feature is made available for users in the Atlanta, Phoenix and Dallas markets before going to other areas.

This means that you can now pay for the rides of a loved one like your children going home from school while you're at work, a stranded friend, or a co-worker or employee running errands, from wherever you are, right from the comfort of your own phone.
Just like it's been said "Family always comes first" and "hey! What are friends for if not for inconveniences". You're Welcome! 😁

This option of course, isn't only for members of your family, but you can also choose to help someone in need who is added to your group in the app. This is nice, although there is a need for trust in this as you bill trips taken by others to your payment card, and so you need to add people who are part of a somewhat trusted circle.
You select contacts to join your family profile (name and mobile number) and then such persons will be able to request rides from their own phones using the Family Profile feature as the method of payment. All they have to do is to accept the email invitation sent to them to get started. You as the payer, whose payment card is on file and is associated with the profile, will receive ride receipts for the persons added to use the Family Profiles payment option.
It allows up to 10 riders to share the payment method.

There is no ETA for the Family Profiles feature to reach other Uber markets but they intend to make it a standard feature on the app.
Uber is available in 58 countries and in 400 cities, worldwide, of course including Abuja and Lagos in Nigeria with Abuja being the most recent launch city.

The Uber experience is one I haven't had an opportunity of having but will let you know when I do. I'll have you know however, that I know someone who has had the experience. So I guess that puts me in the category of those who have heard about it and know someone that knows someone who uses the service. Lol!
All the same, I'm getting me the Uber mobile app and I think that counts.
So, yes, I am a "Uberer" by association. Ha!

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