Taxi-hailing app Uber is launching a new tool that lets users in London pre-book rides up to 30 days in advance, rather than ordering when they need them.
The move is seen as another move into traditional cab industry, and London is beign used as a testing ground before rolling the service out to other cities in the UK and Europe.
Until now, Uber customers could only request a taxi to come immediately, but they can now order a car up to 30 days in advance.
The service will initially be available to customers with a business account, but will be extended to the company’s 2 million London users within a fortnight.
Tom Elvidge, Uber’s general manager for London, said: “Instead of tapping a button a few minutes before you need the ride, you can now tell us hours or days in advance when you need a car and we’ll do it for you.”
He said the service had been introduced in response to customer demand for booked cabs.
Uber has been experimenting with different formats, including the UberEATS delivery service, which pits the company against Deliveroo.
Moving into the booked car market could intensify the animosity between Uber and traditional taxi drivers.