UberBoat launched in Istanbul, letting people use app to cross the Bosphorus

Service is run in partnership with a local sea transport company

Uber will now let people travel on boats, ordering them in the same way that they do cars.

The service is being rolled out in Istanbul, letting people cross the Bosphorus in partnership with local sea transport company Navette.

As with the company’s taxis, users can load up the app and see how near empty boats are. They set their pickup location, a captain will call to confirm, and the boat will arrive.

The boats cost a little more than normal ferry services, but allow six to eight people to travel across the river that divides Europe and Asia at once.

Millions of people make the commute between the two sides of the river — avoiding the traffic on the world’s most congested streets — usually paying about 2.15 lira (50p) each. The Uber journeys will cost about 50 lira (£11.86) but can be split between all of the people riding.

Uber has been causing controversy in Europe in recent weeks. Protests in Paris erupted into violence last week, after cabbies turned over cars and blocked the Paris ring road with burning tyres.