Uber API: Hello convenience.

The company known for its taxi-like car service has just made it even easier to hail a ride.

Late last month Uber released an API that enables its ride service to be integrated into third-party apps.

What’s more exciting is that the announcement came with the news that 11 partners are already using the API worldwide. These are: Expensify, Hinge, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Moment, OpenTable, Starbucks Coffee Company, Tempo Smart Calendar, Time Out, TripAdvisor, TripCase and United Airlines.

There is, however, a small catch. At present, the API doesn’t allow users to hail a ride. A user can look up their destination address, display pick-up times, find fare estimates and access their trip history. Uber has a reason for not including the ‘dispatch driver’ functionality: it wants to iron out any issues before the feature spreads far and wide.

In May when Google updated its US maps, it included direct Uber integration. In addition to the dispatch driver functionality, users can launch the Uber app with the tap of a button from the Google Maps app. We hope it won’t be long before this functionality arrives in Australia!

On the developer front, Uber has set up an affiliate program that offers developers credits when they generate new users.

This API is a huge step forward for Uber and opens up a world of possibilities for the business and its users. Emil Michael, Senior Vice President of Uber, said: “We’re in over 150 cities and nearly 50 countries…[We’re] touching every inch of every city every hour of every day”.

It’s not surprise that Uber would offer this kind of incentive program to developers considering it’s a convenient way for them to access a greater share of the market. It will be interesting to see the level at which it’s adopted.

Not everyone is happy with Uber, with some cities claiming its model is disruptive to traditional taxi services.

In August, a Frankfurt court awarded in favour of the taxi drivers’ union and imposed an injunction on Uber. This prevented the organisation from operating in the city on the grounds that the app violates Germany’s unfair competition law. Uber have announced that it intends to appeal the decision so it won’t be long before the injunction is lifted.

Having just raised $1.2 billion in their latest round of funding ($258 million of which came from Google Ventures), we suspect that Uber doesn’t see an injunction like the one in Frankfurt as a warning of troubling times ahead.

If you’re an avid user of Uber let us know which apps you’d love to see the API integrated into – we’re keen to find out.