More reliability, peace of mind: Pre-scheduled ride's a preferred choice for riders

Uber today released key 2024 trends for Uber Reserve, its pre-scheduled ride option, showing a sharp rise in usage across Indian cities as more riders explore the advance-travel-booking feature.

With bookings growing close to 200% year-on-year, Reserve is becoming the preferred choice for riders looking for reliability, especially for odd-hour airport trips, festival travel, and business commutes.Nearly one in four airport drop-offs now happen via Reserve, showing growing demand for certainty when timing matters most, with Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai leading in usage. Airport drop-offs were the primary use case for Reserve during 2024, with as much as 40% of overall Reserve trips ending at an airport.Beyond the airport use case, spikes in Reserve bookings were observed during wedding seasons, exam dates, and major festivals like Diwali, Eid, and Christmas, where the usage increased almost 15% ahead of public holidays. Intercity travel using Reserve also rose significantly, up 40% during the Diwali festive period, and close to 30% over long weekends during 2024.Speaking on the growth of the product, Shweta Mantri, Head of Rider Verticals, Uber India and South Asia, said: “Riders are telling us what they value most - reliability, flexibility, and peace of mind.

Uber Reserve is helping them take more control of their time and their travel. Whether it’s for a flight, a meeting, or a family celebration,Reserve is becoming the preferred choice for planned journeys across India.

”Riders have the option to book Reserve trips up to 90 days in advance, and in one case, a rider booked their trip as early as 89 days ahead, reflecting the faith they put in their trusted ride option.The average lead time for Reserve bookings was 9 hours during 2024.

Popular Reserve time slots included 4-6 AM for flights, and 7-10 AM for office commutes.Reserve trips made through Uber for Business rose 140% year-on-year, and now make up a tenth of all Reserve bookings - a sign that working professionals are increasingly opting for more control and certainty with pre-scheduled transport.In terms of product adoption, Chennai led the charge during 2024, with the highest proportion of the overall trips being reserved ahead, followed by Bangalore and Hyderabad. With growing momentum across use cases and cities, Uber Reserve is poised to play a larger role in how India plans its travel.As rider expectations evolve, Uber remains committed to building solutions that offer greater control, reliability, and peace of mind.

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