Uber reported on Monday that it is launching a new service that allows customers to book and pay for parking in major cities in the United States. This comes about nine months after the ride-hailing company acquired the parking app SpotHero.

Uber announced this acquisition in February of this year. The company stated that this transaction allows Uber to access a network that covers over 400 cities, including 13,000 garages, parking lots, and valet parking services. Although Uber's initial plans will focus on human drivers, the company also intends to utilize these parking spaces to assist the dozens of autonomous vehicle companies it collaborates with.

Uber indicates that these parking spaces can be used as gathering and waiting areas for autonomous vehicles, to help reduce congestion and deadheading – that is, the distance that vehicles travel when there are no paying passengers or cargo.

Currently, the company plans to focus on users who commute by car themselves. Uber stated that the service will be launched first in 15 American cities, including Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated earlier this month that the company hopes to make this app more attractive to commuters.

"Commuting is one of our largest categories," he said during the Uber third-quarter financial report conference call. "Being able to provide commuters with a Uber to get to work, a pass to avoid peak-time surcharges, and parking services when they wish to drive is a great example of our efforts to expand our service offerings. These services are aimed at our most important customers – commuters."

The membership program Uber One is a key part of this strategy. Uber indicates that Uber One attracts subscribed users through rewards and points, and these benefits helped the program grow to over 55 million members as of September 30th. For example, Uber offers members the opportunity to get a 10% point rebate on eligible parking reservations. These points can later be used for rides and Uber Eats orders.

Uber Parking can be accessed directly from the app's homepage. Users can enter their destination, select the desired parking date and time, and then view the options on an interactive map. Users can also filter between self-parking, valet parking, garages, and open-air parking lots. All prices are displayed in advance.

After finding a parking spot, users can make a reservation by entering the vehicle information and use the payment methods available in their Uber wallet. Upon arrival at the parking location, users can either scan a unique QR code or enter through license plate recognition. Uber indicates that users are able to cancel the reservation for free before the scheduled start time.