Uber steps into the HGV industry with new app service

Uber, despite being best known for their app-based taxi service, have decided to branch out into haulage. In a move both unforeseen and completely logical, Uber are planning an expansion from delivering passengers to delivering freight. So far the Uber Freight service is only available in America, but as with Uber’s taxi service it’s completely feasible that the company will look to move into other countries around the world, including the UK.

Presented as a flexible and desirable career choice for drivers, Uber Freight’s advertising centres on a lifestyle as much as a job. The idea is that drivers can pick up a delivery job close to where they are, which will take them to places they might already want to go. As with Uber taxis, drivers will find available jobs via an app, and the company promises prompt payment for each completed job.

At the moment, drivers can expect to be paid within 7 days of the delivery being made, but says it plans on decreasing that time so drivers get paid even faster. So far, the majority of goods being moved by Uber Freight are in Texas, but the company plans to expand the service throughout the United States. This big news from Uber has received mixed reactions, with some experts saying that – unlike its taxi service – Uber is not actually bringing any new innovation to the market.

It’s not the only step Uber has taken into the haulage industry. The company’s recent introduction of self-driving truck service OttoMotto has been mired in controversy over claims of stolen copyright. The self-driving truck technology isn’t looking to replace drivers altogether, but merely to give them the option of a safe autopilot mode during the long hours on major connecting roads. Long miles of highway in America are likely to see much more of this type of vehicle in the future, while British roads are perhaps less in need of it.

While it does seem that Uber is far from in the clear over its ventures into the haulage industry, it certainly is a company to keep an eye on when it comes to picking up and highlighting trends in the sector. Uber’s most recent developments are hot on the heels of Tesla’s recent announcement of an all-electric HGV to be unveiled in September this year.

It’s an exciting time to be in the haulage industry with such high profile companies vying to revolutionise the way we think of HGVs, and it looks set to change the sector for the better in the years to come.  So what better time to train as a new HGV driver and make the most of these fantastic new ideas?