Getting an Uber with your pet just got a lot easier
Ride-sharing with Fido the dog or Muffins the cat can be frustrating for everyone involved — from the driver to fellow passengers — but a new Uber mode should make it easier to bring your pet on a trip.
Starting Wednesday Oct. 16, Uber Pet is a new test ride option available in Austin; Denver; Nashville; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Philadelphia; Phoenix; and Tampa Bay, Florida.
Uber Pet is essentially a built-in communication tool so you don't have to call or text the driver you're matched with and hope they'll be cool with a pet joining the ride. Instead, by selecting "Uber Pet," you'll see the rate for taking your furball with you (there's a pet surcharge tacked onto your normal fare) and know that the ride picking you up will accept you and an animal passenger. It'll be an option in the same place that UberX, Uber Pool, and other types of rides are listed on the app.
On the driver side, drivers can indicate if they're up for Uber Pet trips and therefore OK with your animal in the car — or can opt out if they don't want those types of rides. Drivers will receive a portion of the pet surcharge that the rider puts down.
The new Pet mode is for non-service animals. Riders with service animals are not required to use the new feature and can order an Uber as usual through other modes.
Although dogs and cats are expected to be the most common animal companions on trips, the mode is called "Uber Pet," so iguanas, hamsters, and birds, for example, can technically ride, too.
The new mode should eventually come to more cities if all goes well in this first batch of test cities.
Uber competitor Lyft has a pet policy for non-service animals that encourages passengers to reach out to drivers ahead of time and let them know they're bringing a furry friend along.
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
