Google Maps Now Integrates Uber And Taxi Service Solutions

by Gabe Zaldivar
Last updated: 1:00 PM ET, Wed March 16, 2016

Photo courtesy of Thinkstock

If you feel a bit more powerful today, it's only because you now have an immense amount of transportation information at your fingertips.

On Tuesday, Google premiered yet another innovation, sweetening an already crucial app with the ability to see just how much an Uber and a taxi might cost in certain markets.

While taxi services across the globe are slow to add tech solutions to their own milieu, it may just be apps like Google Maps that help the cause.

Yes, that's extremely optimistic, but you have to like the possibilities with this new Google Maps addition. Simply call up the app and peruse as usual. And then you will see something like this:

Photo courtesy of Google Maps Blog

Google Maps Blog explains: "In addition to our existing global ride service partner Uber, with this update we're adding new providers across five countries: 99Taxis in Brazil, Ola Cabs in India, Hailo in the UK and Spain, mytaxi in Germany and Spain, and Gett in the UK."

Now taxi services will get the super-duper Uber treatment already included in the app, which gives a heaping dose of versatility to the trip.

Of course, brands like Lyft are yet to make the cut, but you can see what the future might hold by incorporating transport solutions along with a GPS map innovation.

As noted, if you do want to take a ride, then the app will then send you to the corresponding Uber or taxi app already installed on your phone, so you aren't wasting precious time by swiping between services.

For those who do use Uber, you have a bit more starting this week: "if you're using Uber, starting today, we'll now show uberX, uberXL and UberBLACK for an easy and quick comparison."

Sadly, you iPhone-toting travelers will have to wait a bit, because the rollout is for Android only at the moment.

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