Uber for Business released a new version on Aug. 15, marking the first significant change since the feature’s debut 3 years ago. Employers can now set travel restrictions for when their employees use the service. Preset restrictions include: time of day, specified geographic limits, type of car used and amount of rides.
Custom programs are also available. For instance, First and Last Mile programs for commuters, recruiting and travel programs, employee perks and other travel expense programs may be applied. In addition, employees can assign different types of programs and perks based on employees’ roles.
When signed into their business accounts, employees can see their specific programs. If a trip does not qualify to be expensed, the rider will be asked to use their own payment method.
Automatically Easier
Uber for Business has also streamlined the process. Rather than relying on human resources to inform and track (often inaccurately) employee usage, rules are automatically enforced. Plus rides may be expensed directly. The manager-facing back end for Uber for Business has also been redesigned for simple functionality. And Uber Central is directly incorporated into the interface, allowing approved managers to make particular adjustments or exceptions outside of the current policy.
“This new version of the platform is focused on truly enabling those use cases that businesses were already turning to us for, but Uber for Business wasn’t built for yet,” said Greg Greiner, Uber for Business’ head of product, to Skift. “The future is really about how we continue to expand to allow the product to be used for more.”
Companies of all sizes and employers of all tech proficiencies will benefit from the program’s upgrade.
