It’s not just South Africa going all out for festive travellers. International companies like Uber are also hoping to up the convenience factor for people going away on their holidays. The latest from the ride-share all is the introduction of kiosks at (some) airports.

It’s little more than a tablet and a card reader, but it’s intended to let you snag a ride even if your international roaming hasn’t kicked in yet. Of course, that means more money for Uber and less need for interaction with real people. Still, if you’re in the States and don’t have a compatible data package and SIM card…

Uber reinvents… the taxi rank?

The first of these kiosks will appear at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) Terminal C, with additional stations appearing at more “hotels, ports, and international airports in the coming months”. Using them is about as simple as firing up the company’s app. However, you’ll need a functional bank card to complete your transaction. Nobody should be entering financial data on a communal electronic device, after all.

It seems like a novel solution, until you realise that this is how taxis… used to work. Uber has complicated the process a little, which used to involve a) standing in line or b) stepping into traffic and raising a hand at a passing empty vehicle. Still, it lets travellers continue grabbing rides without resorting to anything quite so crass as physical activity. Or speaking.

Uber describes the experience, saying users “[s]imply walk up to the kiosk, enter your destination, then select your ride type. The kiosk prints a paper receipt with your trip details, making the experience as straightforward as possible.”

The kiosks are set for international locations only for now. How they’d fly in a place like OR Tambo International Airport, where there’s regular friction between Uber drivers and standard taxi operators, remains to be seen. It’s awfully easy to vandalise a free-standing tablet on a pole, after all…