Hailed as the first skiing-specific foray for the ridesharing giant, uberSKI launched in Utah this past weekend, offering rides in AWD vehicles along with space for your gear. The service, a partnership with Backcountry.com, will offer rides from Salt Lake City to any ski resort near Ogden, the Cottonwood Canyons or in Park City — all for the same base rates of uberX and uberXL plus a $4 surcharge.
Utah pros Angel Collinson and Sierra Quitiquit were on-hand Saturday to take the first uberSKI ride, which seems designed mainly to get you from city to slopes rather than shuttle you around ski towns after last call.
While only Utah skiers will get rides officially dubbed uberSKI, ski town residents and visitors have been able to hail an uber prior to last weekend. But the service has been sporadic in remote mountain areas, with drivers and riders caught in a chicken and the egg scenario where they both need more of each other to rationalize using the service.
To that end, uber is making a concerted effort to bring consistent service to more ski towns this winter. The Aspen Times even has an interview with someone who, in the Year of Our Lord 2015, just heard about uber and is now one of its first drivers in the Roaring Fork Valley. In addition to major recruiting pushes, new ridesharing regulations in Colorado might also be having the counterintuitive effect of paving the way for expansion into less populated parts of the state.
Uber is coming to Tahoe sometime this ski season, too. And thanks to a deal with Nevada, skiers and riders won't have to walk from the state line to Incline. What's next, Big Sky?
· uberSKI: From the City to the Slopes! [Official site]
· Uber Looks To Crack Into New Market: The Mountains [CPR]
· Uber expands mountain efforts, eyes Aspen next [Aspen Times]
· Uber Launches In Tahoe, Says It's Getting More Female Drivers Every Month [SFist]
· I-70 Bustang Begins Service to Colorado Ski Areas Tomorrow [Curbed Ski]
· 10 Things You Need To Know About Colorado's I-70 Toll Lane [Curbed Ski]
· Fly to Ski Towns With This Rockies-Only Private Jet Service [Curbed Ski]