OCEAN CITY, Md. – Uber is hitting the beach.
The popular ride service will begin picking up passengers in Ocean City beginning 5 p.m. Friday.
The launch was, in part, a result of demand captured by technology.
“We saw that people were going to Ocean City and opening up the Uber app looking for safe rides,” says Kaitlin Durkosh, a spokesperson.
Until Friday, the application only indicated that no rides were available.
“We thought with Memorial Day coming up and a weekend when tons of people flock to the beach, what better time to expand our footprint in Maryland and go live in Ocean City,” she says.
The company also announced service in more than 20 other beach towns along the East Coast.
Uber says rides will start with a base fare of $2.76, with 19 cents per minute and $1.52 per mile added after that.
An Uber spokesman says the company would be “constantly evaluating” demand to determine whether its services this summer would just be seasonal.
Uber will launch in St. Michaels as well. The company already operates in Baltimore and Annapolis, as well as certain suburbs around the Baltimore-Washington area.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
