Uber will team up with the company Bellhops to offer moving services this weekend. Credit: Uber Blog
Smartphone-based car service Uber has been on an experimental kick. Last month, the San Francisco-based company delivered ice cream on demand for one day to its Nashville users. This weekend Uber’s offering moving services.
It’s of a piece with the company’s forays into other pop-up ventures. In Boston, they’ve dabbled in boat rides, carpooling in San Francisco and courier service in New York City.
“We often test opportunities like this to get outside of your typical transportation services to provide a new opportunity to use Uber,” said spokesman Taylor Bennett.
In other words, the pop-up services gain attention, which helps with their overall goal: getting more people to download their app.
Uber has proven not to be above headline-grabbing gimmicks in the past. They did Christmas tree deliveries last year. And perhaps a bit more bizarre, they once delivered kittens for 15-minute cuddle sessions.
For their two-day moving experiment, Uber is teaming up with Bellhops, a start-up that employs students to help people move.
“So trucks not included. But two people available, whether it’s moving a mattress or putting furniture together, or unloading a truck, whether you’ve already got it and just need more arms and legs,” Bennett said.
Bennett says Nashville could see more pop-up services from Uber. But in the meanwhile, Nashville officials are finalizing new regulations for Uber and similar car services –- after a significant pushback from conventional taxi companies.
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