Seattle was recently named by TomTom’s Annual Traffic Index as the 5th most congested city in the U.S. and number 2 for the worst rush hour commutes. The average Seattleite spends an average of 148 hours per year in traffic. Heavy congestion is bad for productivity and the resulting pollution hurts everyone’s quality of life.

To help address this issue, we launched uberPOOL for rides to and from Sea-Tac Airport. uberPOOL enables people going to the same place at the same time to share the journey. It’s all about getting more people into fewer cars. This means cheaper rides for passengers and less congestion over time.

And starting April 13, uberPOOL will be available from Greenwood to SoDo for people looking to share their ride at our lowest price yet.

“We’re proud to offer cheaper rides for passengers as we work toward less congestion on our roadways. uberPOOL makes it easy and affordable for people going in the same direction to share the trip. It’s carpooling at the push of a button.” – Brooke Steger, Uber General Manager, Seattle

uberPOOL is a proven model: In LA, for example, uberPOOL now accounts for over 30% of Uber’s local trips. During the first 8 months of POOL availability in the city, riders took more than 5 million POOL trips, resulting in 7.9 million fewer miles driven across town. This decrease in mileage cut carbon dioxide pollution by 1,400 metric tons.  

Cheaper rides for passengers: uberPOOL is more affordable because the cost of the trip is shared. The fare per trip is set at 25% less than uberX, whether Uber pairs you up with another rider or not.

Less congestion on our roadways: uberPOOL is a convenient way for people heading in the same direction to share the trip. This helps cut congestion and pollution. And because uberPOOL is cheap and easy to use, it offers a credible alternative to car ownership. If you can press a button and get an affordable ride across town within minutes at any time of day or night, why bother to own a car at all?  

More trips for driver-partners: uberPOOL means less idle time between paying trips for our driver-partners. It also means more demand overall, because as the cost of a trip falls, more people use the service.

Learn more about how you can request uberPOOL in Seattle.