6 ms·

Google Maps On Mobile Gets Uber Integration

121 points by viscanti 12y ago

ignostic 12y ago
I did not see that coming - does anyone know whether money changed hands here? It'll be interesting to see how Lyft and others respond.
- mindotus 12y ago
  Google Ventures is an investor.
  - maxmcd 12y ago
    Yes, but as mentioned in the article: "Google always maintains its venture arm operates independently from the rest of the organization" Are there other examples of something like this happening to a GV backed company?
    - aetherson 12y ago
      I'm sure that the venture arm operates independently of main Google -- but it's not like the folks at Google Maps are somehow unaware of the fact that GV sunk a quarter-billion into Uber. And Uber is one of the, if not THE, biggest investments GV has made. They have $1.5 billion in assets, according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Ventures http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Ventures). So 1/6th of all their assets is Uber. Which means that asking whether other GV-invested companies have experienced easier Google integrations is not all that meaningful -- Uber is an outlier.
Dorian-Marie 12y ago
Knowing Google, it will be an Android API service where you can register your app, so here Uber is an example in the screenshot but other apps will be able to register too. That would actually be amazing the see the different prices / times for each service like Uber / Lyft / Taxi / Bus / Metro / etc.
- scep12 12y ago
  It seems like they're on the cusp of offering something similar for Google Now voice actions based on the Android Wear preview SDK. As both a user and developer, it's a welcome addition.
- jusben1369 12y ago
  Great point. Google wants all the world's data so I'd say they'd be much more interested in using Uber to get all the other services to quickly follow suit than try and make this Uber specific and a lead gen tool for a while.
- msoad 12y ago
  I think this happened because Google Ventures invested $200M on Uber last year.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
- tricolon 12y ago
  > If you have the Uber app installed, you can now compare your ride with transit and walking directions right from Google Maps in some cities. That doesn't sound like an ad. It sounds like if I don't have the app installed, I won't see it.
salimmadjd 12y ago
This is either a huge victory for Uber or a trojan horse by Google. Google can use this strategy to train users to rely on google maps for Uber. If they see traction, they can roll out their own competing ride sharing service on top of google maps where they already have built traction and have users by using Uber.
- awj 12y ago
  Other than a decidedly not-Uber-like experience of throwing ads at a captive rider, I really don't see a reason that Google would be interested in that space.
  - rory096 12y ago
    As it stands now I'd agree, but Uber's the first market that'll be overturned by self-driving cars.
    - erichurkman 12y ago
      Google has other realms that could benefit from self-driving cars, not just ride-sharing/taxi. Why have separate fleets of vehicles if you can have one that does taxi services, shopping deliveries, and data collection (street view) at the same time?
    - aetherson 12y ago
      Commercial trucking is the first market that will be overturned by self-driving cars. More predictable routes, do not have to deal with passenger misbehavior, higher total profits to absorb early-on technology costs associated with creating the self-driving vehicle (LIDAR costs and whatnot).
  - rm999 12y ago
    Google wishes it wasn't 95+% an ad company. It's a highly profitable space, but it leaves them vulnerable in the long term. Google is entering into the delivery space (Google Shopping Express) and into self-driving cars, both which are similar to or complementary to Uber's business model.
sarreph 12y ago
And, before long, the road will be jammed full of Gübers...
NicoJuicy 12y ago
I wonder how it works in Brussels and in Germany, where UberPop has been forbidden. And does it integrate Uber only (where only legit taxidrivers can participate) or does it also integrate UberPop (that has been illegal in Brussels and Germany). Cause according the website, UberPop is still available in Germany (https://www.uber.com/cities/berlin https://www.uber.com/cities/berlin ) and in Brussels (https://www.uber.com/cities/brussels https://www.uber.com/cities/brussels)... Anyone knows what specificly is integrated?
- jacalata 12y ago
  Uber is illegal in multiple US cities as well, but that hasn't stopped them operating anywhere that I've heard.
  - NicoJuicy 12y ago
    Uber or UberPop? From what i understand, those are 2 different things.
    - jacalata 12y ago
      I haven't heard of UberPop in the US: a quick google says it sounds like a more open version of UberX, so it would also be illegal: the sticking point is drivers without a professional license/commercial insurance taking money from people for rides. In the US the version of Uber that uses professional drivers is technically called Uber Black: in my experience when people say "Uber" they mean UberX (because it's cheaper and so more popular).
jamesgeck0 12y ago
The lane information they're adding to the UI is great, but I hope it's added to the navigator voice, too. There haven't been many times when I've had to cross three lanes of traffic in a hurry because Google Maps waited until the last minute to tell me to turn right, but they tend to be memorable when they happen.
hershel 12y ago
Currently the biggest challenge of UBER is regulatory - cities are fighting it tooth and nail. One way to exert strong political pressure is to offer a real breakthrough new service for the mass population(and not something like UBER which is an incremental innovation targeted for a small section of the population). This also fits with the breakthrough mentality shown by google's leaders. Such service could work like UBER for public transit[1], basically enabling people to share rides with multiple other people while decreasing the costs significantly and maybe making such a service an viable alternative to private transportation. Such an offer would be hard for politicians to resist for long. One key to enable such service at scale, is access to plenty of people and their real-time travel data, and having an ability to offer them an highly targeted ad + route + service. That sound perfect for google+UBER. Like a huge market they're positioned perfectly for. [1]Previous HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7391885 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7391885
- kevando 12y ago
  I've got to think this is a big play for their self driving cars. 1) The new map data moves to show how super advanced their capabilities measuring real time data so people build more trust. 2) Uber is also a likely bridge to the mass population accepting self driving cars. First we ditch our own cars for ubers (which are everywhere according to google maps), then when Google decides to swap out the human with AI, it won't be as a drastic jump from where we are now. Kudos, Google.
  - dave5104 12y ago
    I'd also point out--for your benefit if you don't know, or for anyone else that reads this--that Google is an investor in Uber.
  - hershel 12y ago
    Totally agree. More so: let's think about speed of adoption. It takes much less time to replace a small fleet of public transportation vehicles than the huge private fleet we have today. And from a business model perspective , if an automated car manufacturer wants to compete , he has to start building a public transportation service now. But cars manufacturers have wrong incentives and bad capabilities for such tasks. So this practically guarantees Google will win a large share of the automated transportation market from the car companies. Maybe it's time to invest in google ?
akavi 12y ago
Could this not have anti-trust implications? This seems very analogous to Microsoft's tying of IE and Windows, considering Google's dominant position with regards to maps.
- raldi 12y ago
  Microsoft was declared a monopoly in large part because there were huge barriers to their users switching to another platform. They were totally locked in. In the maps world, there's no such lock-in. It's trivial to switch from Google Maps to some other mapping service.
DigitalSea 12y ago
This is fantastic news for Uber. In my city Uber is only just starting to roll out properly, but when I recently visited San Francisco everyone in the tech space travels around using Uber, so I gave it a go and it was fantastic. To those saying this is a move by Google to test the waters for a ride sharing service of their own, Google Ventures invested $258,000,000 into Uber, it would be cheaper for them to just have a large amount of equity in Uber like they probably already do or just by Uber out if it gains massive momentum. You have to understand when you get to the size Google has it becomes more economical and cheaper for a company to just buy out any competing service or take a massive chunk of equity. Large companies rarely innovate, they purchase and absorb already established and researched companies & niches. I can honestly see sometime in the future Google and Uber teaming up together to create driver-less Uber vehicles. Uber have already removed the payment on the spot step with credit card/Paypal integration, why not eliminate the driver as well?
JosephHatfield 12y ago
How is this helpful to the Google Maps user? If I'm looking for an Uber ride, I couldn't care less about opening Google Maps. I just open Uber and request a car.
- philsnow 12y ago
  you've presupposed the user wants an uber. usually what the user wants is to no longer be where they are, but where they want to be, and they'd be equally alright with taking a bus or subway.
hu_me 12y ago
This is actually an interesting monetization experiment for google maps. Google might create an ad type allowing all the different ride sharing companies to bid on this ad space. Should be able to attract pretty good cpm considering the user has already shown clear intent.

121 points by viscanti 12y ago

I did not see that coming - does anyone know whether money changed hands here? It'll be interesting to see how Lyft and others respond.

mindotus 12y ago
Google Ventures is an investor.
- maxmcd 12y ago
  Yes, but as mentioned in the article: "Google always maintains its venture arm operates independently from the rest of the organization" Are there other examples of something like this happening to a GV backed company?
  - aetherson 12y ago
    I'm sure that the venture arm operates independently of main Google -- but it's not like the folks at Google Maps are somehow unaware of the fact that GV sunk a quarter-billion into Uber. And Uber is one of the, if not THE, biggest investments GV has made. They have $1.5 billion in assets, according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Ventures http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Ventures). So 1/6th of all their assets is Uber. Which means that asking whether other GV-invested companies have experienced easier Google integrations is not all that meaningful -- Uber is an outlier.

Dorian-Marie 12y ago

Knowing Google, it will be an Android API service where you can register your app, so here Uber is an example in the screenshot but other apps will be able to register too. That would actually be amazing the see the different prices / times for each service like Uber / Lyft / Taxi / Bus / Metro / etc.

scep12 12y ago
It seems like they're on the cusp of offering something similar for Google Now voice actions based on the Android Wear preview SDK. As both a user and developer, it's a welcome addition.
jusben1369 12y ago
Great point. Google wants all the world's data so I'd say they'd be much more interested in using Uber to get all the other services to quickly follow suit than try and make this Uber specific and a lead gen tool for a while.
msoad 12y ago
I think this happened because Google Ventures invested $200M on Uber last year.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

tricolon 12y ago
> If you have the Uber app installed, you can now compare your ride with transit and walking directions right from Google Maps in some cities. That doesn't sound like an ad. It sounds like if I don't have the app installed, I won't see it.

salimmadjd 12y ago

This is either a huge victory for Uber or a trojan horse by Google. Google can use this strategy to train users to rely on google maps for Uber. If they see traction, they can roll out their own competing ride sharing service on top of google maps where they already have built traction and have users by using Uber.

awj 12y ago
Other than a decidedly not-Uber-like experience of throwing ads at a captive rider, I really don't see a reason that Google would be interested in that space.
- rory096 12y ago
  As it stands now I'd agree, but Uber's the first market that'll be overturned by self-driving cars.
  - erichurkman 12y ago
    Google has other realms that could benefit from self-driving cars, not just ride-sharing/taxi. Why have separate fleets of vehicles if you can have one that does taxi services, shopping deliveries, and data collection (street view) at the same time?
  - aetherson 12y ago
    Commercial trucking is the first market that will be overturned by self-driving cars. More predictable routes, do not have to deal with passenger misbehavior, higher total profits to absorb early-on technology costs associated with creating the self-driving vehicle (LIDAR costs and whatnot).
- rm999 12y ago
  Google wishes it wasn't 95+% an ad company. It's a highly profitable space, but it leaves them vulnerable in the long term. Google is entering into the delivery space (Google Shopping Express) and into self-driving cars, both which are similar to or complementary to Uber's business model.

sarreph 12y ago

And, before long, the road will be jammed full of Gübers...

NicoJuicy 12y ago

I wonder how it works in Brussels and in Germany, where UberPop has been forbidden. And does it integrate Uber only (where only legit taxidrivers can participate) or does it also integrate UberPop (that has been illegal in Brussels and Germany). Cause according the website, UberPop is still available in Germany (https://www.uber.com/cities/berlin https://www.uber.com/cities/berlin ) and in Brussels (https://www.uber.com/cities/brussels https://www.uber.com/cities/brussels)... Anyone knows what specificly is integrated?

jacalata 12y ago
Uber is illegal in multiple US cities as well, but that hasn't stopped them operating anywhere that I've heard.
- NicoJuicy 12y ago
  Uber or UberPop? From what i understand, those are 2 different things.
  - jacalata 12y ago
    I haven't heard of UberPop in the US: a quick google says it sounds like a more open version of UberX, so it would also be illegal: the sticking point is drivers without a professional license/commercial insurance taking money from people for rides. In the US the version of Uber that uses professional drivers is technically called Uber Black: in my experience when people say "Uber" they mean UberX (because it's cheaper and so more popular).

jamesgeck0 12y ago

The lane information they're adding to the UI is great, but I hope it's added to the navigator voice, too. There haven't been many times when I've had to cross three lanes of traffic in a hurry because Google Maps waited until the last minute to tell me to turn right, but they tend to be memorable when they happen.

hershel 12y ago

Currently the biggest challenge of UBER is regulatory - cities are fighting it tooth and nail. One way to exert strong political pressure is to offer a real breakthrough new service for the mass population(and not something like UBER which is an incremental innovation targeted for a small section of the population). This also fits with the breakthrough mentality shown by google's leaders. Such service could work like UBER for public transit[1], basically enabling people to share rides with multiple other people while decreasing the costs significantly and maybe making such a service an viable alternative to private transportation. Such an offer would be hard for politicians to resist for long. One key to enable such service at scale, is access to plenty of people and their real-time travel data, and having an ability to offer them an highly targeted ad + route + service. That sound perfect for google+UBER. Like a huge market they're positioned perfectly for. [1]Previous HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7391885 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7391885

kevando 12y ago
I've got to think this is a big play for their self driving cars. 1) The new map data moves to show how super advanced their capabilities measuring real time data so people build more trust. 2) Uber is also a likely bridge to the mass population accepting self driving cars. First we ditch our own cars for ubers (which are everywhere according to google maps), then when Google decides to swap out the human with AI, it won't be as a drastic jump from where we are now. Kudos, Google.
- dave5104 12y ago
  I'd also point out--for your benefit if you don't know, or for anyone else that reads this--that Google is an investor in Uber.
- hershel 12y ago
  Totally agree. More so: let's think about speed of adoption. It takes much less time to replace a small fleet of public transportation vehicles than the huge private fleet we have today. And from a business model perspective , if an automated car manufacturer wants to compete , he has to start building a public transportation service now. But cars manufacturers have wrong incentives and bad capabilities for such tasks. So this practically guarantees Google will win a large share of the automated transportation market from the car companies. Maybe it's time to invest in google ?

akavi 12y ago

Could this not have anti-trust implications? This seems very analogous to Microsoft's tying of IE and Windows, considering Google's dominant position with regards to maps.

raldi 12y ago
Microsoft was declared a monopoly in large part because there were huge barriers to their users switching to another platform. They were totally locked in. In the maps world, there's no such lock-in. It's trivial to switch from Google Maps to some other mapping service.

DigitalSea 12y ago

This is fantastic news for Uber. In my city Uber is only just starting to roll out properly, but when I recently visited San Francisco everyone in the tech space travels around using Uber, so I gave it a go and it was fantastic. To those saying this is a move by Google to test the waters for a ride sharing service of their own, Google Ventures invested $258,000,000 into Uber, it would be cheaper for them to just have a large amount of equity in Uber like they probably already do or just by Uber out if it gains massive momentum. You have to understand when you get to the size Google has it becomes more economical and cheaper for a company to just buy out any competing service or take a massive chunk of equity. Large companies rarely innovate, they purchase and absorb already established and researched companies & niches. I can honestly see sometime in the future Google and Uber teaming up together to create driver-less Uber vehicles. Uber have already removed the payment on the spot step with credit card/Paypal integration, why not eliminate the driver as well?

JosephHatfield 12y ago

How is this helpful to the Google Maps user? If I'm looking for an Uber ride, I couldn't care less about opening Google Maps. I just open Uber and request a car.

philsnow 12y ago
you've presupposed the user wants an uber. usually what the user wants is to no longer be where they are, but where they want to be, and they'd be equally alright with taking a bus or subway.

hu_me 12y ago

This is actually an interesting monetization experiment for google maps. Google might create an ad type allowing all the different ride sharing companies to bid on this ad space. Should be able to attract pretty good cpm considering the user has already shown clear intent.