Uber launches carpooling service UberPool in Singapore

Image credit: Uber.

If you’ve been feeling lonely during your Uber ride from Tampines to Tanjong Pagar, and also concerned about your increased carbon footprint, fret not. Uber is bringing UberPool, its carpooling service, to Singapore. It’ll kick off on July 1.

With UberPool, a driver can pick up more passengers who are travelling toward the same general direction. Users can request a ride as usual and the app matches them with an ongoing ride that’s convenient. The driver then picks them up along the way and drops off each rider as they reach their destination.

UberPool trips have made up about 20 percent of all Uber trips around the world in the last three months.

The main advantage for riders is that they split the fare between them so it’s cheaper to get to where they’re going via a normal Uber ride – the company claims it can be up to 25 percent cheaper than UberX, its current basic offering. And despite the lower fares, drivers can potentially ferry more passengers along a given route – the theory is that they continuously pick up new ones that fit the current destination.

Plus, there’s the “fewer cars on the road, which is good for the environment and reduces congestion” angle.

“Looking through our data, we have noticed a lot of ‘look-alike’ trips every day,” says Warren Tseng, general manager for Uber in Singapore. Those are Uber rides that have very similar itineraries – people who start from the same general direction and end up in very similar places, like Singapore’s Central Business District, for example.

Image credit: Uber.

Pooling together

UberPool was first launched in August 2014 and is currently available in more than 18 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Los Angeles. UberPool trips have made up about 20 percent of all Uber trips around the world in the last three months. UberPool trips in China number around 30 million per month, according to the company.

Uber’s major competitor in Southeast Asia, Grab, has been beta-testing a similar service called GrabHitch in Singapore since November 2015. A major difference to Uber’s model is that it allows any car owner to be a GrabHitch driver. Also, it’s not meant to be for the driver’s profit, with the fare covering costs like fuel and wear and tear.

As of June 2016, GrabHitch can also be used to ferry passengers over the causeway connecting Singapore and Malaysia, although Singapore’s Land Transport Authority has ruled that’s legal only if rides are for free.

Before UberPool, the latest service that Uber had launched in Singapore was food delivery through UberEats.