It’s shaping up to be a crazy busy Thanksgiving travel season. And Uber is hoping to take advantage of that.
The ride-sharing service has announced a number of new products and services for people trying to get from the airport to the homes of friends and family that it claims will help them save money—or make it easier to transport that Buick-sized suitcase they insist on traveling with.
First, UberX Share service will now be available at select airports, letting riders share a trip with one other traveler, which could save them both 25%. (Should a match not be made, the single rider will still save 25%.) That service will initially be made available at Austin, Denver, Newark, Dulles-Washington, D.C., Miami, New Orleans, Phoenix, San Francisco—and internationally at Amsterdam and Madrid. Other cities will be added later.
For people who travel with lots of luggage, Uber is also introducing UberXXL, which will offer extra trunk space. Prices for those rides will typically run between the price of an Uber XL and Uber Black, the company said. Riders who reserve one between now and Dec. 1 will get $20 Uber cash back on the ride.
Uber XXL is currently being offered at 60 airports worldwide and 40 in the U.S., including all three New York City airports, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami and more.
Uber also plans to extend its shuttle service to LaGuardia in New York, with service every 30 minutes between 5:00 a.m. and 10:45 p.m. Three different routes will take riders to the World Trade Center, Grand Central Station or Penn Station.
The Transportation Safety Administration says 2024 could be the busiest Thanksgiving travel period ever, with 18.3 million people hitting airports from Tuesday, Nov. 26 to Monday, Dec. 2.
