Now you can book Uber without downloading the app: Dial an Uber

Uber has announced the expansion of 'Dial an Uber' to all 29 cities where Uber currently operates in India. The new feature allows users to request an UberGO cab from a mobile phone browser. This means you can book a cab without downloading the Uber app.

The feature, which was first rolled out in four Indian cities - Nagpur, Kochi, Guwahati, and Jodhpur, is a must-have feature as rides can be requested even in areas with low or poor network connectivity.

“We began with introducing ‘Dial an Uber’ - an ‘India first Innovation’ in four cities, as a pilot to overcome the challenge of serving under all kinds of networks, especially low or poor connectivity. Buoyed by the overwhelming responses, we are pleased to announce a national roll-out. ‘Dial an Uber’ offers a convenient choice to customers looking to book a ride and is a testament to our focus on using our technological edge to make mobility reliable and accessible for everyone,” said Apurva Dalal, Head of Engineering, Uber India.

How does it work? You need to follow these steps to book an UberGo Cab

- Navigate to dial.uber.com on mobile phone browser
- Enter your phone number to quickly login or sign-up
- View pricing information, get a fare estimate and request for your ride with a single tap
- After requesting, instantly get connected with driver over call to coordinate pickup
- Once the trip is completed, you can pay driver in cash

Considering that users will not install the app, there are some restrictions to use the feature. You can only dial for an Uber from your phone’s mobile browser. You can only pay in cash. You won’t receive any receipts. Cancellation of a ride will incur charges which will be added to your next ride.

Uber earlier this month rolled out Uber Weddings to 12 cities in India.

Also, the cab aggregator unveiled a complete revamped app to promote more personalized experience. The new app brought features like ‘Destination first’, ‘Shortcuts’, ‘Calendar Integration’, ‘People Search’ and ‘Choose car, compare fare upfront’.

Furthermore, Uber plans to launch a feature called People that will let users set a person as a destination, rather than a location.