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If you're in Seattle and you have an Uber for business account, you can now book your ride up to 30 days in advance. But business travelers in San Francisco will soon be able to access the new feature too.
Like Lyft's scheduled ride feature, which the company rolled out a few weeks ago, Uber won't request the ride until just before the designated pick up time so it's still technically on demand. That means the pricing is exactly the same as Uber X as well — so if Uber X is surging, your scheduled ride will be too.
The company plans to roll this out globally in top cities for business travel. But in many markets, neither Uber nor Lyft will be the first with a scheduling option. In New York, ride-hail competitor Gett has offered the service since its entrance to the market. If and when the company launches the feature in places like the Middle East, Uber's scheduled ride feature will be competing directly with local ride-hail player Careem's.
The scheduled ride has also been a staple of black car and limo services that historically catered to corporate and business travelers. Many of those companies have attempted to fend against Uber and Lyft's increasing popularity by creating their own apps, but had this, perhaps, single advantage in the bag. Now, scheduled rides are no longer a relic of the private car industry of the past.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
