Uber has introduced a new carpooling service called Express Pool, which is meant to offer riders cheaper fares while sparing drivers the hassle of transporting them to different drop-off points one after another. According to a new report by The Verge, Uber Express Pool is designed to match multiple riders bound for the same general destination with the optimal driver using the company’s proprietary algorithms. For Uber riders, that means they will have to wait a few minutes as the Express Pool system searches for the right driver to ferry them to their destination. Additionally, extra time is needed as well to match other riders with the same driver and sift through different routes and pickup and drop-off locations in order to organize the trip before the passengers hop into an Uber-certified vehicle.
While the Uber Express Pool service aims to keep the transportation cost for riders to a minimum, passengers will have to make a few extra walks to the pickup point in addition to spending a few extra minutes of waiting. Anyway, it’s only a single compromise that they need to make if they want to save costs and help Uber drivers avoid the unnecessary inconveniences. Once the passengers reach their target general area, the Uber driver will drop them off at a certain point that’s commonly near to their respective destinations. As a kind of perks for Uber riders who patronize the service, Uber will offer them an Express Pool rate that’s half the price of the UberPool fare and 75 percent lower than what an UberX ride costs. The Express Pool service will be initially rolled out in Manhattan, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Denver, with plans to make it available in more cities in the future.
The launch of Express Pool complements Uber’s existing carpooling service offering called UberPool, which also matches drivers with riders bound for the same general direction at a cheaper rate, though the driver needs to drop the passengers off at their exact destination. Earlier last year, Uber introduced a number of changes to its UberPool service in Manhattan to improve the algorithms used to match passengers and drivers as part of an effort to minimize the inconvenience for both drivers and riders throughout the trip.