• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, September 14, 2015

Having thoroughly disrupted the taxi business, Uber is now moving into… print media?

Yes, you read that correctly. Uber is testing a new in-car magazine, titled Arriving Now,in New York City -- and may decide to bring it to other markets if it’s successful there.

The magazines are placed in vehicles' backseat pockets, facing passengers like airplane magazines (or Amtrak’s Arrive magazine).  Arriving Now delivers news and tips on the city’s culture, restaurants, night life and related topics just in time for New York Fashion Week. In the first issue, socialite and fashion doyenne Olivia Palermo talks about her favorite NYC shops and fashion trends.

Judging by the photos on the Uber Web site, the magazine appears to be a folded, large-format pamphlet with semi-loose sheets, similar to a theater program. It appears to carry advertising, as well.

Also, like those airplane magazines, Arriving Now is free to take home, according to Uber, which encourages passengers to do just that.

The publication may be part of Uber’s bid to take control of the passenger media experience, where it faces new competition.

Back in April, I wrote about Viewswagen, a startup that aims to install tablets in ride-sharing cars as part of services like Uber, Lyft, Sidecar and Flywheel. The tablets enable passengers to interact with a range of content, similar to the displays in taxi cabs. On the driver side, it offers a flat payment of up to $3 per hour on top of the fees they make from working for the ride services.

However in May, Uber discouraged its riders from using the service, and threatened to remove cars that are using the advertising tablets from its system.