Overview
Melburnians will have the chance to cut their Uber spend in half, as the city welcomes UberPool services next week. Set to launch in Melbourne on Monday, June 11, it's the local spin-off of Uber's USA-based Uber Express Pool, which sees multiple passengers using the ride-share cars at once, in a carpooling scenario.
The launch follows successful UberPool trials in Sydney earlier this year, which saw over 60,000 Sydneysiders use the service.
To start, UberPool will service an area between Coburg in the north, Hawthorn in the east, Balaclava in the south and Footscray in the west, where the company found the biggest number of riders to be travelling along similar routes.
When using the app, UberPool riders simply request a ride, follow directions to the designated 'dynamic pickup spot' nearby, and then hop in the car with others that are travelling a similar way and who'll help share the cost of the trip.
The savings will vary depending on when you use the service, while drivers will earn about the same as they would behind the wheel of a regular UberX service.
Uber's general manager for Australia and New Zealand Henry Greenacre said that UberPool would save customers around 50 percent to start with, before levelling out at about two-thirds of the cost of a standard UberX trip.
Uber looks to be trying to win back a few customers, following stiff competition from new rival services like Ola and Taxify.