Uber Announces UberPool Carpooling

Uber Announces UberPool Carpooling

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Uber is my one of my favorite innovations for ground transportation. When public transportation in a city isn’t good, I used to get really frustrated by the lack of options and taxi “mafias,” though fortunately Uber has solved that problem. They have Uber Black, which is the “standard” service and a bit more than a taxi, while they also have UberX, which is usually cheaper than a taxi. And thanks to the instant feedback loop (you rating the driver and the driver rating you), service is excellent across the board, in my experience.

Yesterday Uber announced their latest innovation, entitled UberPool. As you may have guessed based on the name, Uber is now experimenting with the carpool business.

Per Uber’s blog, here are the basics:

UBERPOOL – THE IDEA

The idea is simple. With UberPool, you share a ride—and split the cost—with another person who just happens to be requesting a ride along a similar route. The beauty, though, is that you still get Uber-style on-demand convenience and reliability: just push the button like before and get a car in five minutes. When we find a match, we notify you of your co-rider’s first name. Even if we don’t find an UberPool match for you, we’ll give you a discount on your ride.

WHY WE’RE SO EXCITED

While the UberPool idea is simple, the implications are profound. On average, uberX already costs 40% less than taxi. Imagine reducing that cost by up to another 40%! In San Francisco, how about $6 to Uber from the Castro to the Financial District? Or $10 from Sunset to SOMA? At these price points, Uber really is cost-competitive with owning a car, which is a game-changer for consumers.

This is also a bold social experiment. There’s the interaction between riders in an UberPool—should they talk to each other? When is that cool and when is it, well, annoying? We’re going to find out how this brave new world of UberPooling works—we’ll iterate on this beta product and get it right, because the larger social implications of reducing the number of cars on the road, congestion in cities, pollution, parking challenges… are truly inspiring.

WHEN DO WE LAUNCH?

This is rolling out immediately in private beta. Because UberPool is an early beta product, there will undoubtedly be kinks and surprises to work through. Throughout the beta, we’ll be training more drivers and getting feedback from initial riders and drivers doing UberPool rides. Our friends at Google will also be joining us in the beta. They share our vision of a more energy-efficient world with less traffic congestion and pollution in our cities and are excited to be early adopters of UberPool. We will expand the beta more broadly on August 15th.

This definitely has the potential to be extremely useful. First Uber innovated the limo industry with Uber Black (making it cheaper and more on demand), then they innovated ridesharing with UberX (making transportation more reliable and cheaper than taxis in most cases), and now they will potentially be innovating carpooling with UberPool (making Uber a fraction the cost of a taxi).

It’ll be interesting to see how this is rolled out. What I find most intriguing is that they’ll apparently give you a discount on your ride if they’re not able to match you with someone. I’m curious how they plan on doing that in practice, and how big the discount will be.

UberPool

If you’re not yet an Uber member, you can sign up for Uber now and get a free ride of up to $30. You can sign up using my referral link or feel free to post your link below and people can sign up through there. Once you’ve signed up with a referral link you can immediately apply your credit of up to $30 towards a free ride.

Would you use a carpooling option like UberPool if it were available in your city?

(Tip of the hat to Hans)

Conversations (18)
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  1. Josh Guest

    Use my referral link!
    https://www.uber.com/invite/f9jc0

  2. Jacob Guest

    Would appreciate use of my link uber.com/invite/uberjcohen

  3. Larry Guest

    Lucky -- I think it's often harmless. Here, for example, uber pooling doesn't seem to be an especially super hot topic yet. But, and I can't speak for others, the comments are one of my favorite parts of the blog. You have a funny and interesting readership in the main, and the fact that you participate in comments to respond makes some blog entries a dialogue. Those are the best ones, often. The referral links...

    Lucky -- I think it's often harmless. Here, for example, uber pooling doesn't seem to be an especially super hot topic yet. But, and I can't speak for others, the comments are one of my favorite parts of the blog. You have a funny and interesting readership in the main, and the fact that you participate in comments to respond makes some blog entries a dialogue. Those are the best ones, often. The referral links do add clutter. After all how many of us, your readers, do you imagine can give uber referrals? Nearly all of us, I would suppose. Your desire to not want to squelch others from posting their links when you post yours is a generous one, but I do think it can be a bit at the expense of the blog.

  4. Dan Guest

    Lucky, I find it annoying. Its not like I'm going to click a random joes link, so it just clutters up everything. Yours, OTOH, are a different story.

  5. Larry Guest

    Lucky -- have you given any thought to referral links in your comments? Basically any blog entry about stuff that offers referral bonuses ends up with somewhat cluttered comments.

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ Larry -- Can't say I have. I try not to moderate comments, and at the end of the day I want to "spread the wealth" as much as possible on the blog. But if it's something you perceive as an issue I'll certainly give it some more thought.

  6. Aaron Guest

    Would appreciate just one click-through!

    https://www.uber.com/invite/ubergozer

    Thx

  7. FreeTravelGuys Member

    Thanks for the heads up. Our referral link if anyone needs to sign up.

    https://www.uber.com/invite/uberfreetravelguys

  8. Andrew Guest

    here's another $30 code:

    https://get.uber.com/invite/7us6s

    THANKS!

  9. ma'am Guest

    Here's another uber $30 sign up link:

    https://www.uber.com/invite/ubersheeju

    TIA!

  10. Chris Guest

    Here's my link if you're interested in sharing the wealth. First ride is still free up to $30! My code is sbvsh.

    http://uber.com/invite/sbvsh

  11. PennAdam Guest

    I'd prefer if they expand this for longer trips. There are other sites for sure, like craigslist, zimride etc but none with the reach or popularity of Uber.

  12. Santastico Diamond

    No tks!!! This looks like Super Shuttle.

  13. Arthur Guest

    Use my Uber Code and get $30 off your first ride. Go to uber.com/invite/q65h9 to get your discount.

  14. Kelly Guest

    Great idea! For those looking to sign up for Uber, feel free to use my Uber code, i2qed, and get $30 off your first Uber ride. Redeem it at uber.com/invite/i2qed.

  15. Eric Guest

    I would definitely "pool" trips in Chicago and DC, especially when heading for the airport.

  16. alex Gold

    Interesting idea but I think it will only work in a few select cities where you have a relatively condensed city center. ie: NYC, Boston, Chicago. May not be as useful in St. Louis, Atlanta, etc...

  17. zach Guest

    Here's my referral link

    https://www.uber.com/invite/w3f19

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Josh Guest

Use my referral link! https://www.uber.com/invite/f9jc0

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Jacob Guest

Would appreciate use of my link uber.com/invite/uberjcohen

0
Larry Guest

Lucky -- I think it's often harmless. Here, for example, uber pooling doesn't seem to be an especially super hot topic yet. But, and I can't speak for others, the comments are one of my favorite parts of the blog. You have a funny and interesting readership in the main, and the fact that you participate in comments to respond makes some blog entries a dialogue. Those are the best ones, often. The referral links do add clutter. After all how many of us, your readers, do you imagine can give uber referrals? Nearly all of us, I would suppose. Your desire to not want to squelch others from posting their links when you post yours is a generous one, but I do think it can be a bit at the expense of the blog.

0
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