Facebook is adding a Transportation component to its Messenger client. This allows users to call up journeys at transport services directly from the app. The first partner Facebook is working with is Uber.
Transportation is part of Messenger and can be used directly from conversations. Users can click on an address in a conversation and click on ‘request a ride’ in the menu that appears. Alternatively, they can click on the car emoji.
It seems that users will be able to choose multiple transport services in the future, but for now there is only Uber integration. From this service, people who have requested a ride also receive status updates about the time it will take before their transport is available.
Facebook is testing the functionality with a limited group of users in the US, but promises other countries will follow soon.