Uber launches car rentals in the UK for maximum social distancing

Uber announce today that it will soon allow users in the UK to rent cars via its app in a partnership with car rental company CarTrawler. Users will be able to select the new “Uber Rent” option from within the app and then browse available cars for their chosen date and location. Rental cars can then be picked up from the “hundreds” of car hire company pickup locations. The UK launch follows trials in France and Australia.

The process works a little differently from Uber’s bike or scooter rentals. Although Uber says you’re technically able to make your booking at the same time as you pick up the vehicle (as you would when renting one of its Jump bikes in the UK), it encourages you to make car reservations at least 24 hours in advance. Rentals can be cancelled up to 48 hours ahead of collection and Uber is promising discounts on rentals of up to 25 percent.

Uber recommends you book your car 24 hours in advance

Car rentals are just the latest new product offering that Uber is exploring after being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month the company reported that it had lost $1.8 billion in the quarter, and its ride-hailing business was down 80 percent compared to the previous year. The downturn has forced the company to lay off thousands of employees, and it’s warned that it may have to shut down its operations in California after a court ruled that its drivers should be classified as employees.

Although Uber says the service is launching today, the car rental functionality doesn’t appear to be live in the iOS or Android apps just yet. We’ve followed up with Uber for more details and will update this story if we hear back.

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