Uber really wants to be your one-stop transit app

While you'd think that Uber would balk at mass transit, it's really quite friendly to the concept. One of its best-known third-party app tie-ins, Transit, lets you hail a car from the same app that gives you real-time bus schedules. And now it's returning the favor: an update to Uber's Android app (iOS is coming) shows you Transit-sourced departure times within a block of your destination. If you need to catch a commuter train and are wondering whether or not you'll reach the station in time, you won't necessarily have to jump between apps. You'll still need to launch the dedicated Transit app to see a wider list of departures, but it's hard to knock the convenience.

The integration is only available in the US right now, and only for about 50 cities (Boston, Chicago, New York City and San Francisco are some of the larger examples). It won't work everywhere that Uber and Transit are available, unfortunately.

With that said, there's no doubt that Uber wants to see this feature expand. If it's going to create a viable alternative to owning a car, that means acknowledging that riders can't (or just won't) always use its service for the entire length of a trip. You might be more likely to use Uber if you see it as part of a larger transportation picture, especially for those times when it would be cheaper to take a shorter Uber ride and bus the rest of the way.