Sydney’s population is expected to hit seven million in the next 30 years, bringing with it a whole host of challenges, including congestion. By 2046, Sydney-siders will spend about 400,000 hours each day stuck in traffic jams, as there will be approximately 2.5 million extra car journeys every day according to a recent report by Infrastructure Australia.

That’s why we’re excited to announce the launch of uberPOOL on April 3rd, a product that makes it easy for people headed in a similar direction at a similar time to share the journey. By getting more people in fewer cars, we can achieve better utilisation of the resources we already have on the road. That means this service can help cut congestion and pollution over time.

And when you share the ride, you also share the cost, saving up to 50% on your trip (compared with uberX).

Since we launched uberPOOL in other global markets in August 2014, nearly one billion POOL rides have been taken and the product makes up about 20% of all Uber trips in the cities where it’s available. In 2017, if Uber riders had driven alone instead of sharing their rides, we estimate that nearly 500 million more kilometres would have been travelled globally — consuming nearly 24 million litres of fuel and emitting 56,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

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 to find an efficient trip.

  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, saving up to 50% on your trip, compared with uberX.  

  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.

uberPOOL is a proven model.

Cheaper rides for passengers: uberPOOL in Australia is more affordable because the cost of the trip is shared. The cost per trip is up to 50% less than uberX, which is typically our cheapest service – whether Uber pairs you with another passenger or not.

Less congestion on the city streets over time: uberPOOL is a convenient way for people going in a similar direction at a similar time to share the journey. It’s also another tool to help cities solve congestion and pollution. And because uberPOOL is cheap and easy to use, over time it offers a credible alternative to car ownership. If you can press a button and get an affordable ride within minutes at any time of day or night, why bother to own a car at all?  

Less time between trips for driver partners: uberPOOL means less idle time between trips for driver partners. Experience in other markets with uberPOOL suggests that it generally means more ride requests overall because as the cost of a trip falls more people use the service and this can lead to more rides for driver partners.  

Henry Greenacre, General Manager, Australia and New Zealand, said:

“uberPOOL makes it easy and affordable for people going in a similar direction to share the trip. It’s carpooling at the push of a button. That means cheaper rides for passengers and less congestion on the city’s streets over time.

We’re excited to finally bring uberPOOL to Australia to kickstart a new wave in the share economy that will help our cities move more efficiently over time.”