Uber Freight launches to connect truck drivers with available shipments

This service is entirely focused on drivers and trucking companies.


Kenneth Ho

19 May, 2017

Uber Freight launches to connect truck drivers with available shipments | BEAMSTART News

- From our Sponsors -

Uber is now the ‘Uber for trucking’ – Uber Freight is a new service from the ride hailing company that pairs up trucking companies, including independent operators, with loads that need to be hauled from one place to another. The app looks a lot like the main Uber app, but it’s targeted towards vetted and approved drivers, who can browse for nearby available loads, see destination info, distance required and payment upfront and then tap to book.

The idea is to streamline something that used to take hours of back and forth negotiation via phone or other communication, putting it in a simple workflow with confirmation of job acceptance and rates paid within a few seconds.

Uber also notes that they’re addressing another big pain point when it comes to small trucking companies and independent drivers: payment speed. Like many freelancers, truckers typically have to wait at least 30 days to receive a pay out, while Uber Freight will pay “within a few days, fee-free, for every single load,” according to the company, and in cases where payments don’t go through so quickly, Uber will pay additional fees depending on the wait periods.

This service is entirely focused on drivers and trucking companies, and Uber makes not mention in its press materials around the launch of Otto, the automated trucking service it acquired last year and still operates separately. It would be hard to imagine a scenario in which Uber wouldn’t make use of information and data gleaned from this new service to help further develop its autonomous trucking ambitions however.

The key to making any kind of self-driving tech more robust is logging lots of miles on the road for systems to learn from, after all, and this can help them in that regard much like Uber’s regular consumer car service informs its self-driving pickup plans.

- From our Sponsors -

Latest Jobs

Growth & Marketing Intern

Mosaic

California,

Internship

USD 5000 — USD 8000 yearly

Marketing Manager

Hudu

Full Time

USD 70000 — USD 130000 yearly

Senior Platform Engineer

Cosine

England,

Full Time

USD 75000 — USD 100000 yearly

Team Lead Backend Engineer (Data/API team)

HockeyStack

California,

Full Time

USD 200000 — USD 240000 yearly

AI/ML Software Engineer Intern

Soraban

California,

Contract

USD 25 — USD 30 yearly

Founding Growth (Content, Social Media)

Crustdata

New York,

Full Time

USD 80000 — USD 150000 yearly

Growth Lead

MindFort

California,

Full Time

USD 100000 — USD 200000 yearly

Field & Event Marketing Lead

Conveo

New York,

Full Time

USD 70000 — USD 140000 yearly

Growth Marketer

Mocha

California,

Full Time

USD 75000 — USD 120000 yearly

Founding Marketer/Head of Growth

Modern Realty

California,

Full Time

USD 80000 — USD 130000 yearly

BEAMSTART is a hub for everything Startups, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation. Connect with a global community of people, and stay updated with the latest startup jobs, news, and discussions.

 
© 2016 - 2025 BEAMSTART. All Rights Reserved (Legal).