Google has made this process even more seamless to hail a car ride in recent days, too, with the addition of ridesharing app integration in Google Maps. And now it’s lowering the barrier to entry even further: on Wednesday, it began rolling out ridesharing shortcuts in mobile Google search results.
When you perform a Google search for directions to a particular location on an Android or iOS device, you will as usual see a map of your intended destination and a shortcut to a list of turn-by-turn directions. Now, though, there’s a new tab: a list of ridesharing services replete with the estimated time each will take and the range in fees they’re projected to cost.
Each is broken down into tiers depending on the services they offer — you can opt for an UberGO ride instead of an UberX or UberXL, for instance. When you eventually decide to pull the trigger, a handy “Order Now” button facilitates things from there: it will automatically launch the corresponding app and input the destination — and if you don’t have the app installed, direct you to the appropriate download page.
In early August, three cities in Indonesia gained a Google Maps shortcut to Go-Jek, a local motorbike transportation service, followed by 24 cities throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
In September, Maps tied in Lyft and Gett, and earlier this year added 99Taxis in Brazil, Ola Cabs in India, Hailo and Gett in the U.K., and Mytaxi in Germany, Spain, Ireland, Poland, Italy, Austria, Russia, and Israel. At the time of the most recent announcement, Google pegged the number of ridesharing integrations at more than ten across 60 countries.
Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/google-mobile-search-ridesharing/#ixzz4Nc2VECuk