Bigger Uber vehicles hit Calgary streets, with luxury options around the corner

Uber users in Calgary now have some bigger options.

"Calgarians have really taken to Uber in the last few months and so we have been able to pull forward quite a few of our product launches, one being Uber XL today," western Canada general manager Ramit Kar told The Homestretch on Wednesday.

Users of the popular ride-hailing service will now be able to choose larger vehicles, like an SUVor minivan, using the existing app.

• Uber to resume operations in Calgary under newly amended bylaw
• Majority of Calgarians want Uber back on city streets, finds poll

"If someone is going out on a Friday night or to a hockey game in a large group, now they don't have to take two separate Ubers, they can all go into one car," said Kar.

Someone heading to the airport with a lot of luggage would be a good fit for the new service as well, he added.

While the San Francisco-based Uber operates in hundreds of cities worldwide, it had a rocky start in Calgary.

The service launched in Calgary in October2015 but cars were pulled from the streets just a month later after the city applied for an injunction to prevent ride-hailing services from operating until the city could update bylaws around safety, insurance and regulatory requirements.

Uber said it could not operate after the city drafted a new bylawthe following February.

In April, Calgary MayorNaheedNenshiwas caught on tape while on a business trip in Bostoncalling theUberCEO a "dick."

The city later realizedhow popular the service waswithCalgariansand arrived at an agreement that sawUberre-enter the market last December.

• Calgary allows Uber in theory but company says it can't operate under new bylaw
• Uber says it needs more drivers to keep up with demand in Calgary
• Naheed Nenshi sorry for Uber 'dick' comment, stands firm on driver screening

It's been so popular the company struggled to attract enough drivers.

Kar says Uber XL is one of many services the company offers.

"Uber Select is basically a luxury product," Kar explained.

That service, which is expected to launch in coming weeks or months, will have higher-end cars like Mercedes and BMWs available.

• MORE ALBERTA NEWS |Medicine Hat poverty-elimination plan draws skepticism from locals
• MORE ALBERTA NEWS |Alberta oil and gas industry projects higher salaries as oil prices stabilize, Conference Board says

With files from The Homestretch