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Transportation Businesses

Uber Is Launching Its Own Parking Reservation Service (engadget.com) 34

Posted by BeauHD from the uber-wants-your-parking-too dept.
Uber is launching Uber Parking, integrating technology from its SpotHero acquisition to let users find and reserve parking garages and lots directly through the Uber app. "You can also filter your results based on criteria like whether you want to self-park or use a valet, or other specific amenities," adds Engadget. From the report: To book a spot, you'll need to provide the make and model of your car and a license plate number. Depending on your lot, Uber will then provide a QR code or you'll be able to enter the garage through license plate recognition. If you need to cancel, the company says the majority of parking options can be canceled for free up to the start time. Parking reservations can also be extended through the app. Uber One subscribers get 10 percent back in Uber credits on eligible reservations.

When it announced its acquisition, Uber said SpotHero offered garages and lots across more than 400 cities in the US and Canada, but the company isn't offering all of them at launch. For now, Uber says Uber Parking will be available in Chicago, Nashville, San Francisco, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle and Washington DC. The company also plans to experiment with using lots as a staging area for the autonomous vehicle fleets offered byÂUber's self-driving partners.

Uber Is Launching Its Own Parking Reservation Service More | Reply

Uber Is Launching Its Own Parking Reservation Service

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  • What's the point? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by r1348 ( 2567295 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2026 @06:21AM (#66418224)

    I thought the point of using Uber was, that you wouldn't be driving your own car.

    • The first sentence half explains it, this service is because Uber acquired spothero, if you look up what spothero does, it explains "Find parking near work, home, airports"

      • can they also find a work near a parking lot? I am asking for a friend...

        • I guess executioner jobs are gonna be in short supply for awhile now, considering the election results.

          Your "friend" might want to lower their standards. Park-and-ride isn't that bad if you drive an older car that isn't going to get broken into.

      • The first sentence half explains it, this service is because Uber acquired spothero, if you look up what spothero does, it explains "Find parking near work, home, airports"

        Reading the headline, I thought it was going to be much worse.

        You know, like narcissistic assholes hiring some new driverless self-driving technology to go park-reserve itself in some premium spot 8 hours before a douchebag in a Porsche needs it, pulling up 3 minutes before the curtain goes up.

        Not to give narcissistic assholes ideas..

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by PPH ( 736903 )

        Spothero seems to be in competition with Uber. Spothero: We'll get your car (which you drive) as close to your deestination as possible. Uber: We'll pick you up some distance away and make our money driving you to your destination.

        Now just wait a sec while we optimise our algorithms to maximize funds extraction from your wallet.

    • Re:What's the point? (Score:4, Funny)

      by martin-boundary ( 547041 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2026 @07:36AM (#66418260)
      Seems like they're trying to become Airbnb For Cars....

      Next I predict Airbnb will compete by offering cheap overnight stays in the backseats of parked cars.

      • Next I predict Airbnb will compete by offering cheap overnight stays in the backseats of parked cars.

        As soon as they do that Uber will merge with Tinder and drive them out of the market.

      • that's already a thing afaik. My friend used to Airbnb a parking space where you could sleep in your own car, a broken down van with a queen mattress (bring your own sheets) and the premium option: an old caravan/trailer with a chemical toilet and outdoor grill.

    • Companies whose valuation grows slower than the rate of inflation are considered failures. There is a market imperative to expand into every/any adjacent line of business

  • I get the feeling (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ThurstonMoore ( 605470 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2026 @07:39AM (#66418262)

    I get the feeling parking is about to become more expensive and a bigger hassle.

    • Re:I get the feeling (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Aighearach ( 97333 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2026 @08:15AM (#66418304)

      All the spots will be reserved for valet customers, and you'll have to wait in line for an uber driver to come and park it for you.

    • Re:I get the feeling (Score:4, Insightful)

      by coofercat ( 719737 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2026 @09:38AM (#66418438) Homepage Journal

      Probably.

      "The nearest parking space available all day is 5 miles from your destination. Would you like us to book an Uber car to pick you up from the parking spot to take you to work?"

      Whilst I'm joking about that, it's actually a tactic used by airport parking operators - that is, you 'valet park' you car at the airport, they drive it some miles to some cheap land and park it for 2 weeks. When you need it, they drive it back again. The same could happen here - instead of parking 2 minutes walk from where you need to go, you park 5-10 miles away, and uber the last bit. Those of us with public transport call that "park and ride".

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by PPH ( 736903 )

        you park 5-10 miles away, and uber the last bit.

        I live 10 miles (more or less) from the airport why would I pay for parking when I could Uber or take public transportation from home?

    • We found a solution to the traffic AND parking problems in the US. All US drivers have to take a driving test that involves a real child running out into the street at the same time as a squirrel comes running out from a different direction. Driver has to make a quick decision which way to swerve: kill the squirrel or the kid. The driver risks flattening the actual child, which would be manslaughter and carry a 15-20 year sentence. People who really want to drive cars would risk 15-20 years in prison if the

      • Wait are you suggesting we kill the squirrel instead of the child? Why not think of the human race. If we are to survive we need to stop global warming, and killing a person would have a far more positive impact on the environment than a squirrel ;-)

      • Read "The Test" by Theodore L. Thomas, his version doesn't kill anyone. It is a short story, so will fit within the modern reader's attention span.

    • I get the feeling parking is about to become more expensive and a bigger hassle.

      Yup, can't wait to not be able to go/park somewhere because I don't have an Uber Parking account. /s

    • Sorry they are all reserved.

      Be prepared to find parking lots half empty but with no vacancy.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by taustin ( 171655 )

      That's the plan. Obviously.

  • Waymo could crush this (Score:3)

    by reanjr ( 588767 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2026 @09:38AM (#66418434) Homepage

    Waymo should use their cameras to find empty parking spots and provide this data to subscribers.

  • Building Profiles (Score:4, Insightful)

    by 0xG ( 712423 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2026 @10:06AM (#66418482)

    you'll need to provide the make and model of your car and a license plate number

    They will make more money selling this data to Flock (et al) than off parking fees.

    • you'll need to provide the make and model of your car and a license plate number

      They will make more money selling this data to Flock (et al) than off parking fees.

      Or selling it to thieves ... This should make finding cars worth stealing much easier.

  • There was a time when companies were satisfied to be very good at one or two things. Now companies feel it's required to be simple okay at everything.
  • Combining the two services gives you a park and ride. A lot of events do not have sufficient parking near by or on popular nights they are all taken. It makes sense to drive close to where you want to go, park somewhere inexpensive where you don't have to search for a spot and then Uber the last bit. This seems like it creates a very useful service.
    • This is useful to those with money. The poor guy that needs to go into town for whatever reason now can't just park at the closest lot because they are all reserved.

  • This is about tracking regular people with their app and sucking up even more personal information and travel habits that they can sell to data brokers. How much you wanna bet they will require you to upload a scan of your drivers license for you to be able to do something as trivial as pre-pay for valet service.

  • Just using self driving cars to camp out in the best parking spots, then leave as soon as I get there? When my college decided to buy their own Taco Truck and put the guy everybody loved out of business by banning him from school property, students volunteered to park their car on city streets close to his old spot and move their car as soon as he got there, so he did a lot more business than the college-owned truck taking his old spot.
  • Most parking garages are for-profit but were initially built using tax payer money. Don't be tying up public spaces by parking your private taxis on public infrastructure.

  • Another nebulously-targeted, poorly-secured nationwide registry of license plate data + with near real time location data attached.

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