Uber today announced that it will launch uberPOOL, its ride-sharing service in India soon. This will let users share the ride and the cost with another person who is requesting a ride along a similar route. You will get vehicles that are available on uberX, but this will cost you 50% less than uberX, making it the cheapest Uber. This service was first launched in San Francisco back in August 2014 and later got expanded to Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Austin.
How to use uberPOOL?
- REQUEST uberPOOL: Enter your destination in the app.
- GET MATCHED UP: During your trip, you can be matched with another rider traveling along a similar route.
- SHARE AND SPLIT: Riding solo? Travel with a co-rider and save. Two or more people? Request a different Uber option please.
- BE ON TIME: The first rider may already be in the car, so be ready to hop in when your Uber arrives.
uberPOOL will first launch in in beta in Bangalore. After gaining insights from adoption and usage, Uber will gradually expand it to other cities across India.
Regarding the arrival of uberPOOL in India, on the official blog, Uber said:
With UberPOOL we’ll aim to achieve our shared vision to make Bangalore a city of the future – one that looks a whole lot greener, cleaner, and more efficient thanks to fewer cars and more shared rides. Reducing the number of cars on the roads is beneficial not only to the environment, but also helps reduce traffic and congestion currently faced by commuters in our city.
uberPOOL has the power to revolutionise the way millions of people commute and think about getting around their cities. It can also have incredible implications for pressing problems plaguing urban environments like congestion, pollution, urban parking and transportation costs — giving even more people an affordable and viable alternative to personal car ownership while helping reduce congestion and emissions.