AppleInsider Staff
iPhone users looking to save money on an Uber ride in L.A. can now view estimated arrival times for the company's UberPOOL option, and they'll even receive a $2 credit toward their next trip if the ETA is missed.
Uber users in Los Angeles must simply ensure they are running the latest version of the Uber app, select UberPOOL and enter pick-up and drop-off locations. The app will then display a price and the latest time the user will reach their destination — even if another rider joins the trip.
Because the app presents an "arrive by" time, Uber claims that most customers will actually be at their destination "well before the estimate shown." If that doesn't happen, the rider will get $2 off their next uberPOOL trip.
While the new feature is available first in L.A., Uber says the "arrive by" feature will roll out in additional markets "soon." No timeframe or specific locations were given.
Launched in 2014, UberPOOL is a ride sharing, cost splitting option for the on-demand transportation service. Users can split their Uber fares with other passengers along the same route.
When on an UberPOOL ride, the driver can stop to pick up other passengers who might be along the same route. Sometimes no other passengers are available, and the customer can end up riding solo at a discounted rate.
Uber says that now more than 100,000 people take pooled trips every week in 18 cities across the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Beijing and Shanghai. To date, over 100 million uberPOOL trips have been taken around the world.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Oliver Haslam
3 Comments
I use Uber in both LA and San Diego - in San Diego the app tries to force über pool, in LA it's one option The drivers tell me that many people don't reaize the have ordered the pool version and don't want it. Uber likes it because they make more money, the drivers don't see any increase in payment.
I did pool in dc, got the discounted rate with no other passengers.
Uber also took $3.5 Billion from Saudi Arabia's government, an organization that consistently and without remorse dehumanizes women and enforces dark ages moral mentality.