Uber announced on Tuesday (25th) three new functionalities available in Brazil, one of them a new version of the app aimed at low-income neighborhoods of large Brazilian cities.
Called Uber Lite, the app was developed for simpler or older Android smartphones. Created and launched first in India, it will have in Brazil its second market. It occupies only 5 MB of memory -- the equivalent of three photos.
Another goal is to reach users who have a limited data plan in their cell phones, a common feature in Brazilian prepaid plans.
Uber says that the Lite app offers a better geolocation feature, in order to avoid making users type addresses. The version also allows users to open the map view only if they want to do so -- in the regular app, the map automatically opens on launch.
The company also launched Uber Cash, which works like a prepaid card to pay for Uber's car and food delivery services. It was developed for users who don’t have credit cards.
Users can buy credits in 285,000 brick and mortar stores, where they can recharge their cards the same way they do with prepaid phone plans.
The third announcement was the revamping of Uber Pool, the company's ridesharing feature, in Brazil.
As it already happens in the US, users will have the option of walking to a pre-established pick-up point to save time and money, and drivers will be paid by miles driven, as it already happens with UberX.
Translated by NATASHA MADOV