The new Uber app offers top users photo guides for airport pick-ups

• Uber has announced new features designed to improve transit from airports for its users.
• One feature guides riders step-by-step from the gates to the outside pick-up locations.
• Others include expanded availability of Uber Reserve and estimated time from gate to baggage claim.

Ahead of the spring break travel season, which the National Transportation Safety Board expects to approach pre-pandemic levels, Uber is releasing new app features to speed up getting around airports.

On Tuesday, the ride-sharing app announced several new tools aimed at better planning trips and increasing efficiency. One such feature provides riders with step-by-step directions on how to get from their gate to their designated rideshare and taxi pick-up area at over 30 of the world’s busiest airports.

Airports that can be used with the device include New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia, as well as airports in Chicago, Orlando and San Francisco, as well as international locations such as Paris, London and Mexico City.

“We want every Uber experience to be effortless,” Jen You, Uber’s head of travel product, said in a statement shared with Insider. “With return travel buzzing, we’ve innovated to redesign the airport experience from start to finish, so you can not only get to and from the airport, but get through it with less stress.”

Uber says the new tools are meant to help riders find a driver faster, ultimately reducing traffic congestion at airport pickup areas. The ride-sharing company said it plans to expand to additional airports in the coming months.

In addition to photo guides, Uber announced that it will soon introduce walking times, giving users an estimate of how long it will take them to get from their gate to baggage claim at more than 400 airports.

The estimated walking time feature is designed to help users decide when to call Uber to reduce wait times for riders and drivers, according to the company.

Uber also announced the expansion of the Uber Reserve feature, which will allow users to reserve a ride through the app in more than 7,300 cities up to 90 days in advance, up from 30 days in the previous version.