Uber re-launches shared ride option across U.S. cities

Uber has announced that it is re-launching its shared ride option in cities across the U.S., including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, San Diego, Portland, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, with plans to further expand the service to even more cities in summer 2022.

Formerly known as Uber Pool, the service is returning after a two-year wait, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, under a new name, UberX Share. Over the past several months, the company has taken into consideration feedback from drivers and riders to re-design, test and troubleshoot the service through various pilots around the globe.

As part of these updates, the new service will allow riders to share a ride at an affordable rate, as they will receive an upfront discount if they choose UberX Share, and get up to 20 per cent off the total fare, if matched with a co-rider along the way.

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Furthermore, in order to prevent pick-ups and drop-offs from causing unexpected delays, riders will only be matched with those heading in the same direction as them. The service has been designed so that riders arrive no more than eight minutes later than an UberX ride.

In addition to making transportation more affordable, UberX Share will encourage riders to make sustainable travel choices by helping to match more people in fewer cars faster – reducing gas use, vehicle-miles and emissions per passenger.

“At Uber, we know affordability is important to making transportation more accessible for more people – especially in the current economic climate. Offering more affordable products isn’t just good for customers, it helps build out an ecosystem of affordable, multimodal transportation – from shared rides, to micro-mobility, to public transit, which continues to be a powerful ally to Uber. Together we can chip away at our ultimate shared competitor – personal car ownership,” said Andrew Macdonald, SVP of Mobility and Business Operations at Uber.