Blackberry messenger will now allow users to book a cab

by Surabhi Nijhawan

Cab aggregator Uber has tied up with Blackberry Messenger (BBM) to book cabs via its app. This new feature will be available under the ‘discover’ section on BBM. The company confirmed that the feature would be live in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East.

Chan Park, Uber’s general manager in South Asia, said, “BBM users can quickly request an Uber ride via BBM despite variations in quality of location, network speed, or device features.”

The collaboration entails that BBM users on both Android and iOS will be able to book a cab while using the BBM app. BBM users would no longer require the stand-alone app for the same. This move will help expand ride-hailing opportunities for Uber and may assist BBM in regaining its popularity as a messaging app which decreased after the introduction of Whatsapp and Facebook messenger.

In February 2017, BlackBerry had launched BBM Enterprise SDK, allowing developers to integrate encrypted messaging, voice, and video capabilities into apps and other services. Uber’s latest integration is probably a result of Blackberry opening its APIs.

Note that Uber’s service is also live on Google Maps but it does require users to install the app. Uber has cab booking partnerships with appointment booking app Practo while Zomato had a partnership with Uber, but now no longer does.

Uber’s initiatives in India

In November 2017, the company started a new feature where customers can book a cab via the telephone. Additionally, in India, it has partnered with Mahindra and Mahindra to provide electric vehicles in Delhi and Hyderabad. The company said that Mahindra’s e2oPlus hatch and the eVerito sedan would run as cabs in Delhi and Hyderabad, and the same will be executed in other cities soon.