You can now order an Uber ride for someone else...

Uber Ride

As if they know what people have been doing, ordering an Uber for someone else. 

The new feature will let you specify someone else in your contact list as the rider on a trip that you have ordered.

Once you set up a pickup location within the app while requesting for a ride, a new dialog will pop-up asking whether the ride is for you or for someone else. Tapping “Some else” will open up your contact list, then you pick a contact, set the destination and request the ride.

The selected rider gets a text message on their phone with the driver’s name, phone number to reach call the driver directly and a link that lets them track their ride on a map.

The driver will see the selected rider’s name and also be able to contact them directly, though your friend’s phone number isn’t shared directly with the driver.

Uber’s product manager Kyle Miller said that the company thinks “the new feature will be useful for users who want to provide rides to their aging loved ones, to help them with the increasing challenge of mobility when they don’t necessarily have access to their own Uber accounts or smartphone devices.”

The feature is currently available in 30 countries including US and India with additional markets getting the update soon.