Look Out Uber, Lyft: Facebook Has A New Patent For Ridesharing Technology

With the popularity of ridesharing services on the rise, it's no surprise that larger-scale companies would be interested in a piece of the profitable pie.

According to Tech Insider, Facebook Inc FB is not only interested in the sphere of ridesharing, but has made strides to capitalize on the technology's potential.

The Scoop

"Facebook has a clever idea that would make it much easier to hitch a ride to concerts, sporting events and other happenings," Tech Insider prefaced Facebook's big news.

"In a patent application published today, the social network laid out plans to become a ridesharing platform, demonstrating how it could let people easily form carpools through its Events feature," according to the article.

While filing for a patent does not guarantee Facebook will actually enter into let alone success in ridesharing, the social media mogul has the building blocks already in place to pave the way toward a lucrative endeavor.

Related Link: Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook's Shift To Mobile Not Just To Make More Money

Facebook Events

As of late, Facebook has spent substantial time and energy bolstering its Events capabilities. Not only has the Events team ballooned from less than five people to more than 50 since 2016, but the product releases reiterate the growing strength of that segment.

In addition to CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlining plans to integrate transportation into Messenger, following an integration with Uber, the company boasted user numbers for Events topped 500 million per month, with a colossal 123 million + events scheduled in 2015 alone.

According to Tech Insider, the integration into Events may look something like this:

Source:

"If Facebook actually launched this feature, it would be great news for users," Tech Insider stated, concluding that the endeavor could save users money and "potentially annoy the likes of Uber and Lyft which make ride-sharing their business."

At the time of this publication, Facebook was seen trading up 3.18 percent on the day at $112.58.