[imagesource:wikimediacommons]

Uber is doing the most, launching boat travel in Greece.

The ride-hailing company announced the news at its third annual Go-GET product event on Wednesday in New York City, saying that vacationers would finally be given the opportunity to book a boat directly via the Uber app.

Its first supported location will be in Greece, allowing up to eight people to cruise to destinations around the island of Mykonos with the boating option, with potentially more locations to come in the future.

Uber has had its eye on boats for a while now, notes TechCrunch, once even offering the brief “Boat to Work” option in San Francisco way back in 2013. There’s even an Uber Boat in London, which is a partnership between Thames Clippers, London’s commuter ferry service, and Uber. London commuters can book tickets to Uber-branded ferries through the Uber app.

Image: Uber

Uber Boat in Mykonos will be ahead of the curve, though, as it’s more of a private charter for the customer and their guests – obviously you can already charter yachts and catamarans in Greece from platforms such as plainsailing.com, but they only offer it for the week, whilst Uber will offer it for a single trip. It also won’t be owned by a third party, like the London Uber Boat.

Uber has been op it, lately, revealing plans to become a “travel super app” and even offering Uber flight bookings for both domestic and international flights – although this is just in the UK for now. The Financial Times reports:

Andrew Brem, Uber’s UK general manager, told the Financial Times the launch of commercial flight bookings was “the latest and most ambitious step” in the company’s strategy to expand its core ride-booking business into a wider travel booking platform […]

Uber has partnered with travel booking company Hopper to sell flights, and will take a small commission from each sale. It also has the option of adding a booking fee on top in the future.

There’s obviously some pressure to expand into new markets post-pandemic, even as ride-sharing is rebounding just fine. Except in South Africa, it seems.

Please just don’t go into private jets, Uber. The environment cannot take any more of that kak.

[source:techcrunch]