Uber to let riders book trips for $50 an hour, but not in the Bay Area

Uber, in an effort to appeal to how its customers needs have changed during the coronavirus crisis, will let riders in 12 U.S. cities reserve a car for $50 an hour and include multiple stops during their booking period.

Uber said Friday that the new Uber Hourly ride-hailing option would become available starting June 2 in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Washington, D.C., Miami, Orlando, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Seattle, Tacoma, Wash. The company has been offering ride service by the hour in some of its international markets such as Europe and Australia.

Uber is not initially offering the new hourly ride service in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the matter.

Riders who want to use Uber Hourly will see an option for the service when they open the Uber app, and then choose how many hours they want to reserve a ride, as well as their expected number of stops. After choosing Uber Hourly, a rider will be matched with a driver who has a larger and newer model vehicle for their ride.

Niraj Patel, Uber’s director of rider operations, said in a statement that the company was making the hourly ride option available in response to the “new normal” environment brought on by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

“We built this feature for riders that anticipate needing additional flexibility when taking care of essential tasks,” Patel said. “And for drivers so that they could access an additional earning opportunity.”

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Uber has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, as shelter-in-place lockdowns meant to curtail the spread of the virus have kept people at home and slashed its number of rides since March. This month, Uber has said it will cut 6,700 jobs, or about 25% of its global workforce, due to the impact that coronavirus has had on its rides business.