Traveling with pets can be a hassle and it doesn’t help if you’re in a place with no access to your own vehicle. Uber is here to help. The app and service now make it possible to take pets with you for a small fee, at least on some trips. Naturally.
With Ubers exploitative gig economy As an independent contractor, not every Uber driver is equipped or willing to carry pets with human passengers. You can see which pets allow pets in the main Uber interface. they market “Uber Pet” instead of the standard ride. (I didn’t see any out-of-the-box in my DFW suburb.) Note that Uber only allows pets besides people: you can’t send Fido to see your cousin alone over the weekend.
Also, I’ll bet “pets” has a very specific definition that Uber Pets drivers are familiar with. It’s probably okay to take your bearded dragon with you in its tote bag. Trying to incorporate your Komodo Dragon into someone’s Kia Soul is likely to negatively affect your Driver Rating. Pets must be leashed or otherwise buckled up, and it would be polite if you brought a towel with you for your ride so your four-legged friend doesn’t get furry in the driver’s seats too.
The new explicit pet guideline makes a lot of things clearer: Until now, it was not known whether a driver would accept pets without a long conversation. Uber advises that pets are not covered by the standard insurance that covers cars and people. Passengers with service animals should still be accepted by all Uber drivers, whether or not they accept standard pets.
Uber seems pretty desperate to go beyond its standard ride-sharing model. In addition to the higher quality Uber XL and Uber Eats food deliveries, the company now has the option to ship local parcels via the Uber driver.
