Masters of the Universe: Google Maps Removes Uber Features

Google Maps has removed a feature which allowed users to order an Uber ride to their location directly from the Google Maps app.

Ars Technica reports that Google Maps has removed a feature introduced in January 2017 that allowed Google Maps users to book Uber rides from within their app. The feature didn’t require Google Maps users to even have the ridesharing app installed in order to book a ride. A newly published support page from Google states, “You can no longer book Uber rides directly in Google Maps.”

The feature worked by allowing users to enter an address and request directions to the location as usual, but rather than choosing directions for walking, driving, biking, or mass transit, users could select an Uber tab that would send their location to a nearby driver, who would collect them and drop them off at their destination. The Uber tab still exists within the Google Maps app but when selected now, forces users to open the ridesharing service’s app and book rides through that rather than directly through Google Maps.

The ride-sharing tab supported up to 17 different transportation services, but Uber was the only service that users could use to pay directly through the Google Maps app. It’s currently unknown why Google decided to no longer support Uber payments within their app, but given the two companies rocky relationship over the past few years caused by a lawsuit relating to allegedly stolen self-driving car information, the removal could be a result of the two companies distancing themselves from each other.