Uber has launched a parking reservation service, following its acquisition of the booking platform SpotHero.
The move extends the company beyond ride-hailing and into the space where drivers leave their cars. Uber has tied the parking push to its plans for robotaxis, and one report says the service is aimed at those vehicles, suggesting the firm sees a role for reserved spaces as it develops driverless technology.
The acquisition
SpotHero was already an established name in booking parking ahead of a journey. Bringing it under the Uber umbrella gives the ride-hailing firm a ready-made service rather than a product built from scratch.
The deal links two parts of the same problem. Cars, whether driven by people or by software, spend much of their time stationary, and somewhere has to be found for them to wait, charge or be collected.
The robotaxi plans
Uber's interest in autonomous vehicles has been a recurring theme as the company looks beyond its traditional model of connecting passengers with human drivers. The parking service is described as connected to those ambitions.
For drivers who already use apps to book spaces, the launch adds another large player to a market that has largely been served by specialist firms. For Uber, it adds a further service to an app that already covers rides and deliveries.
Uber has not said when robotaxi services that rely on the parking arm might arrive on a wider scale.
Logo: Uber
