Uber Partners with Pandora to Bring Internet Radio to Your Ride

Ride-sharing company Uber is integrating Pandora into its driver’s app, the company said Monday.

The partnership will allow Uber drivers to select a station while picking up a passenger without leaving the driver’s app. The built-in Pandora feature will also automatically lower the music when a hail notification comes in, according to TechCrunch.

The integration comes with six months of ad-free Pandora service. After six months, the driver will have to pay for a Pandora subscription, or just listen to the online radio service with ads.

Uber will also provide drivers with auxiliary cables so that they can take advantage of the Pandora feature.

Uber has a history of partnering with music-streaming services. The ride-sharing company’s Spotify partnership allows passengers the option to pick the music during their Uber ride. But Uber drivers have complained about the feature, and how it dehumanizes them, according to The Awl.

In contrast, the Pandora feature puts the ride’s soundtrack back into the driver’s control.

The Spotify integration will reportedly still be available alongside Pandora. But it remains to be seen how having both options plays out for drivers and passengers.

The Pandora feature is a part of a number of new features that Uber is offering its drivers. These features include Uber-branded debit cards and gas discounts, according to The Verge.

While certainly beneficial to Uber, the partnership may be more of a boon to Pandora, who has seen their listenership slowly decline in the wake of services like Spotify becoming popular.