Uber Launches Black-Car Service for Business Travelers

15.10.2024 - 18:43 / skift.com / Justin Dawes / Uber

Uber is launching a new black-car service for business travelers, the company told Skift Tuesday. The service, called Uber Business Black, will come with several features designed for busy business travelers. 

It includes newer luxury vehicles, like Mercedes G-Class or Rivian R1S, along with more flexible booking options and a higher level of customer service, the company said.

Uber Business Black is the latest among a slew of upgrades Uber has made for business travelers — and those upgrades will continue, Josh Butler, head of Uber for Business, told Skift. 

“Uber for Business customers are an extremely attractive target for Uber,” Butler said. “This is a part of the business that Dara [Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO] really wants to triple down on.”

Part of that is because more than half of Uber for Business riders opt for more expensive premium rides, and they take twice as many rides each month compared to non-business users, he said.

Uber launched its first business ride option in late 2022, called Business Comfort. That service will continue, meant for business travelers that want perks like priority pickup but don’t need a full high-end service. 

Business Comfort bookings increased 92% from the second quarter of 2023 to the second quarter of 2024, Butler said. 

“That’s massive for us. That was the inflection point that changed the way we were thinking about building this product,” Butler said.

Butler said that Uber created a customer advisory board as it looked to design a service for business travelers. 

“We listened to the perceptions of where they saw our black product today, and they told us that they felt it was somewhat inconsistent, and the experience really didn’t measure up to a quality service of a black car,” Butler said.

That’s what led the company to designing a ride option meant to more closely emulate a traditional service, but with the higher-tech features that come with booking through Uber. Most corporate services are only bookable online and cannot be easily changed after purchase. 

Only select drivers are allowed to accept Uber for Business rides: Those with luxury cars, high customer satisfaction ratings, and full (not partial) commercial insurance. 

If a driver is behind schedule, riders with Uber Business Black get an Uber Cash credit. They also get more time to get to the car once it arrives, meant to accommodate tight schedules. There is also a 24/7 line to human customer service agents for up to 72 hours after a ride. 

The customers also have access to business features that Uber has released previously. They include the option for executive assistants to book and change rides on someone’s behalf, the ability to reserve rides in advance, and connections to certain expense