Infrastructure Australia has predicted Perth will have seven of the nation’s top 10 congested roads by 2031, including the top four.

That’s why we’re excited to announce the launch of a 6 month trial of UberPool in Perth, beginning in late July. 

UberPool is an innovative product that makes it easy for people heading in a similar direction at a similar time to share the journey. By getting more people in fewer cars, we can help cut congestion, reduce emissions over time, and make transport more affordable.

And UberPool has immediate benefits for Perth riders – when you share the ride, you also share the cost.  As a single rider you can save between 45% and 55% or as much as 70% during promotional periods (compared with an equivalent uberX trip, typically our cheapest option). Additional fees apply if you take a Pool trip with an extra passenger. 

Here’s how it works. 

  1. Request and wait for your pickup spot: Enter your destination and request UberPool. Then, wait a few minutes upfront while your trip is matched with other riders heading in a similar direction.
  1. Walk to your pickup spot: With UberPool, you’ll walk a short distance to a pickup spot near you – simply follow the in-app walking directions. This helps keep detours to a minimum and pickups faster for everyone. 
  1. Share the ride and the cost: UberPool matches you with other riders heading in a similar direction. When you share the ride, you also share the cost. As a single rider you can save 45% to 70% on your trip, compared with an equivalent uberX trip.   Additional fees apply if you take a Pool trip with an extra passenger. 
  1. Walk to your destination: You’ll be dropped off close to your destination. You’ll need to follow the walking directions in the app for a short walk to your chosen destination. 

Importantly, UberPool is designed to help driver-partners using the Uber app achieve similar earnings  as they would for an equivalent uberX trip. UberPool is aimed at creating less waiting time between trips and more trips per hour, which can lead to more reliable and stable earnings.

Perth will be the third city in Australia to launch Pool, following Sydney and Melbourne in 2018. Since launch, if Australian riders had driven alone instead of sharing their rides, we estimate that nearly 7 million more kilometres would have been travelled — consuming nearly 328,000 litres of fuel and emitting 850 metric tons of carbon dioxide. 

Best of all, the majority of Pool trips are rated five stars by both riders and driver-partners.  

Anoop, one Sydney-based driver partner, loves the extra work and income he’s seen roll in since Pool launched in his city last year:

“I have been driving with Uber for the last year and I enjoy every moment of it. The best thing about Uber is it’s so flexible — you can pick your own hours and work according to what suits you better. Uber Pool is such a great addition to Uber — I’m making more money in short distance trips when I pick up more than one rider. Driving Uber Pool is like adding extra earnings to your weekly payment.”

If we see similar success in Perth as we’ve seen in other Australian markets, then we’ll look to go from a trial to making Pool a permanent feature.