You Can Now Arrange Your Ride With Uber on Facebook Messenger! Here's How!

You can now request a ride through your Facebook Messenger -- easier and hassle-free.

According to the report at Facebook Newsroom, Facebook, in partnership with Uber, has launched a new transportation feature in Facebook Messenger which will allow users to avail or arrange a ride on car services through the messaging platform without the need to download the Uber App or even leave the Messenger.

As explained in the announcement, Messenger users have two options to utilize this new feature. First, in a conversation, users can choose "Transportation" by tapping the "more menu" and arrange their ride from there. Alternatively, users can directly search for Uber in the messenger and request a ride by easily tapping the the car icon that will appear.

Additionally, the user will be receiving updates and status of the car they requested while notifications will be sent in the message thread where the ride is requested in order for the people in the conversation to see that the user indeed called for a ride.

Moreover, to promote this new Uber features, users who will be using it for the first time will get free ride of up to $20 value.

"All you have to do to claim your free ride is link your existing Uber account or set up a new account within Messenger and request a ride. Driver status updates and payment receipts will get delivered to a private conversation between you and Uber," the announcement at Facebook Newsroom explained.

According to the report by Mashable, the integration of transportation options in Messenger is to make it easier for friends and families to plan and arrange transportations without the need of joggling between transportation apps and Messenger.

The report also pointed that the partnership with Uber is just the first step for Facebook on integrating transportation options in Messenger, citing that the company is also looking to partner with airlines this coming 2016.

Meanwhile, Wired believes that the progress and additional services besides messaging that Facebook are making on its Messenger app is the way for the tech giant to make it an "Everything App" much like how WeChat became for China.

The new transportation service is included in the latest version of Messenger. However, it is currently in testing phase and will only be available to selected users from U.S. cities where Uber operates. Facebook, nonetheless, affirms its commitment in making the feature available to everyone.

What do you think of this new Messenger feature? Will it be helpful for you? Let us know in the comments below.