In the four years since the car service Uber launched, it has been beset by criticism from myriad groups, including city officials annoyed by its sometimes cavalier attitude toward regulation and taxi companies annoyed by increased competition. Some of the harshest criticism, though, has come from an unlikely place: Uber’s own customers. Thanks to its reliance on what it calls “surge pricing”— meaning that during times of high demand, Uber raises its prices, often sharply—the company has been accused of profiteering and exploiting its customers.
The Uberization of the world has just accelerated. Today, the company opened up its API, meaning that it is no longer just a platform for booking taxis but could also be applied to other services in the real world.
“Apps can pass a destination address to the Uber app, display pickup times, provide fare estimates, access trip history, and more,” the company said on its blog. One can also envision, over time, the platform adding other transportation functions unrelated to taxis, such as delivery services or parking-by-appointment.
Uber is set to launch an on-demand product delivery service in Washington D.C. today, dubbed “Corner Store,” according to a company blog post that was briefly released this morning and later pulled. The re-posted announcement is available here.
Starting today, a limited set of Uber users can order convenience store goods — such as “allergy medicine, diapers, toothpaste and over 100 other items” — via Uber’s app.
