Uber wants to help users plan their next long-distance trip

Uber isn’t only about booking cars. It looks like it’s thinking of becoming a travel agent. On December 24, Uber secured a new patent that could be used to plan trips. Called “Uber Travel” in the images, it looks like a normal flight search like you would see on Expedia, but it adds Uber cars into the mix. A traveler could input their start location, date, and time, alongside a destination, and Uber would recommend an itinerary for them. The “magic” as Uber calls it in the diagram is being able to also incorporate plans for transportation. It’s a deviation from how conventional travel is typically booked segment by segment now. You start with booking your flight, then choose a hotel, then eventually a rental car or some other transit. Uber’s idea, according to the patent, is to take the trip information and show a recommended flight, hotel, and the cost of an Uber to get you from point A to point B all-in-one. In the whole process, Uber is acting as the facilitator, much like a Kayak.com, rather than the provider. These deals will probably be orchestrated by a team overseen by the patent’s author, Howard Jaffe, who is the head of Uber’s global procurement and supply chain.