Everything to know about UberPOOL coming to S’pore & how it makes your ride cheaper

If you’re a frequent Uber user, here’s great news for you. Uber has entered the ride-sharing market, or what is known as carpooling.

UberPOOL will be launching tomorrow, and you will hear many more taxi drivers’ complaints when you ride one.

Here is everything to know about UberPOOL and how it makes your ride cheaper.

How it will work
UberPOOL will allow passengers taking similar routes to share rides, and this service would mean cheaper fares. Trip fares are estimated to be up to 25% less than that of UberX, their cheapest car service.

UberPOOL matches passengers whose routes overlap, even if they have different boarding and alighting destinations. This is also great for sharing commute with your neighborhood friends if you guys are travelling to the same destination.

Uber has said that a passenger may be inconvenienced for no more than 15 minutes when extra passengers have to be picked up or dropped off, so it gives us a peace of mind even when we’re running late for work.

But of course, you’ll need to prepare an additional 15 minutes for your journey if you’re expecting others to join the carpool. Each UberPOOL driver will wait for passengers up to two minutes instead of the usual five minutes from UberX rides.

It will be cheaper
Passengers will be given an upfront fare, so you don’t really have to worry about paying extra from the original fare estimate. The cost-determining factor may not be the carpooling, but is more on the fact that it will be 25% cheaper than Uberx vehicles for commuters.

Do note that the fare will not be changed for anyone in the car no matter how many passengers there are on each ride, and each booking can have a maximum of two passengers.

It sounds effective
As suggested by Uber, sharing rides means lesser congestion and environmental pollution. UberPOOL is able to match passengers in real-time and offer rides reliably as compared to other ride-sharing services in Singapore, as quoted from their general manager.

This manual process involves scheduling and people being at the same place at the same time, so we’re thinking it’s actually quite a complex procedure.

Will it work in Singapore?
Singaporeans are not known for being changing their habits, so this can be quite a challenge. Uber also mentioned that getting people here to share rides would require a “habit change” since some may not like the idea of riding with strangers.

Other unhappy situations can also arise, such as when there’s a delay of picking up the second passenger because they’re late to board. Uber added that this has been incentivized with cheaper fares, and commuters should develop good riding etiquette such as not making the driver and other passengers wait.

Uber driver’s experience
Uber driver Richard Kang expressed his excitement to take UberPOOL rides because he has seen demands on the roads. He would see flight crew waiting for taxis along the way when he drives one to the airport in early mornings. He’s able to do 20 rides for about 15 hours a day now, and he only waits for 15 to 20 minutes between rides.

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com