CINCINNATI -- Getting to and from the bus stop is sometimes half the adventure when taking public transportation, and Uber is trying to change that.
If all goes as planned, there would be no walk or long wait when you get off the bus - your Uber driver would pull right up and whisk you off to your final destination.
Cincinnati Metro and Uber Cincinnati announced a partnership Tuesday morning that seeks to fill the "first mile-last mile gap" that many people who take public transportation know all too well.
Uber and Metro reps say Cincinnati riders will see interior transit cards on Metro buses advertising a unique code for a free ride on Uber for first-time users.
“Many of our customers have expressed their interest in using rideshare services like Uber in conjunction with their Metro trip to bridge the gap between service hours and locations,” said Metro CEO and General Manager Dwight A. Ferrell. “We believe Uber is an ideal partner to help us meet the needs of our customers, ultimately making their experience as convenient and enjoyable as possible.”
Metro is encouraging the community to use Uber’s service to help expand their ability to use public transportation, including getting them to and from their nearest bus stop, to destinations that may be beyond Metro’s normal service area or on return trips after Metro’s service ends.
Since Uber arrived in Cincinnati in April of 2014, company reps say hundreds of thousands of trips have been completed in town.
Uber has been moving this direction for a while in major metro areas around the United States. It's working with a San Francisco company that provides real-time tracking for public bus systems. Nashville and Washington, D.C. are also exploring linking ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft to their metro bus systems.
