Google Maps has a big update rolling out that brings a nicely integrated car sharing booking element to it. The ability to see ride share services like Uber and Lyft has been in Maps for a while now but if you wanted to actually book an Uber, you had to go to the Uber app to do it. No more. Now you can link your Uber account to Google Maps and can book your ride right from within the app. Further, you can see the location of your driver within the app and you don’t even have to have the Uber app installed on your phone for all this to work.
What you do need however is the latest build of Google Maps. That is version 9.43.2 for those keeping score at home and it is currently rolling out to the Play Store.
Once you have the new build, you will need to link up your Uber account within the app. This is done off the settings menu. Once that is done, you can then book your car within Maps. What’s
Ride Share Booking in Google Maps
interesting is that the screenshots provided in the announcement from Google indicate that both Uber and Lyft are an option. But all the text of the announcement say only Uber. While you have been able to see Lyft in the app for a while, the actual booking of a service isn’t there yet. Clearly, however, it is coming.
Google has also gone further and allowed you to book a ride when you are looking at a destination. For example, if you are looking at a restaurant within Maps, you will see the option to book a car from there, making it easy to get to your reservation on time.
Look for the update to Google Maps to hit your devices over the next few days.
