Uber tests monthly subscription that combines Eats, rides, bikes and scooters
Megan Rose Dickey @meganrosedickey
TechCrunch
July 22, 2019
Uber is actively testing a monthly subscription pass that combines rides, Eats, bikes and scooters. In this pilot phase, Uber is testing a few different iterations in San Francisco and Chicago, but each version includes a fixed discount on every ride, free Uber Eats delivery and free JUMP (bikes and scooters) rides. The pass costs $24.99 per month.
In other cities, Uber is testing lower-priced passes that offer discounted rides and free delivery on Eats orders above a certain amount.
“From meals to wheels and everything in between, we’re always looking for ways to make Uber the go-to option for your everyday needs,” an Uber spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch.
This comes after TechCrunch first reported leaked screenshots from Uber’s Android app showing an Uber Eats pass in March, and imagined a scenario where Uber combined Eats with its Ride Pass product.
Uber first launched Ride Pass last October as a way for people to consistently pay lower prices on individual rides for a monthly fee. Lyft offers a similar monthly subscription product called All-Access.
But this is the first time Uber is combining all of its consumer offerings into one monthly subscription. A challenge in the micromobility space is product differentiation and brand loyalty, so this is a smart way for Uber to get customers to fully commit to its multimodal platform. Imagine you’ve bought Uber’s monthly combo pass and are looking for a bike or scooter. You walk by a Lyft bike, but then open up your Uber app to see a JUMP bike isn’t all that far away. My bet is that you’d walk a bit more for that bike since you’ve already paid for it.
Meanwhile, JUMP is experiencing competition in the dockless e-bike space for the first time in San Francisco. On Friday, Lyft deployed its e-bikes that can be both docked and dockless, so it’s notable that Uber is piloting this product in SF. Uber’s combo plan also creeps into Postmates’ territory, which offers a monthly subscription product for unlimited free deliveries. As my colleague Josh Constine has previously noted, this could be a very lucrative move for Uber, as it locks customers into spending more money on Uber.
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