Uber officially launched its transportation services here in the Texarkana area on Tuesday.

Uber is a company that pays drivers to pick up patrons from their location and drive them to their destination. This may sound like a regular taxi company, but Uber has one small feature that most companies don’t have. With Uber, customers use an app on their cell-phone to request a ride.

On this app, users can see the wait time, how many passengers can ride, and how much it will cost to ride for each driver near their location. A ride will be there in minutes and payment is through the app; no cash needed.

“I feel that it will be a useful commodity to our transportation system, especially for people that either have no access to a car or are not able to afford one,” sophomore Ryan Steitler said. “I also believe that it will be good for students that need or want to go places and their parents don’t have time to take them there themselves.”

Students often face the struggle of not having a ride to places they need to go. Many students have after-school events they can’t attend simply because they don’t have a ride. Whether it be a ride home after practice, a ride to a sports game they’d like to attend or even just need a ride to and from school, Uber has the potential to be a well-used resource.

“Uber coming to Texarkana is great because now everyone has a way to get around town faster and easier than relying on city buses and cabs which are unreliable,” senior Dylan Rowlee said. “This is a great opportunity for our town and I’m happy that it is being implemented.”