Facebook's Christmas gift: Book Uber cabs via Messenger 'Transportation'

New York: Social networking giant Facebook has an exciting Christmas gift for its users. The company has launched a new feature that lets people book cars directly from Uber using the Messenger smartphone application.

Under the new feature, people in the US can use Facebook Messenger to book an Uber cab and simultaneously alert their friends in a chat thread.

The new Uber in Messenger feature can be found by clicking on the car icon or finding “Transportation” in the three-dot “more” menu below where you write your messages.

Either of those actions will open Uber’s Request Ride option where you can add your pick up location, destination, and car type,Tech Crunch reported on Thursday.

“We are just getting people used to the idea that you can message more than just people on Messenger,” Seth Rosenberg, Facebook product manager, was quoted as saying in a post.

Everyone who books a cab via Messenger "Transportation" would get a $20 Uber credit.

Earlier, WeChat, a messaging and calling app, allowed users to book cars in China.

Facebook, however, claims that their move was not inspired by WeChat.

Meanwhile, Uber also plans to use Messenger as a test case for real-time customer service

"We will start testing live support through Messenger to find out if this is the best way to start using real-time support through this," Rahul Bijor, Uber's head of API and strategic partnerships, was quoted as saying.

According to Facebook, there are 700 million people on Messenger.

The new feature will most likely be available in the US by Christmas.

(With IANS inputs)