It was one of the first measures taken in the face of the health crisis. On March 17, 2020, the start of the first lockdown in France, Uber announced the end of its “Uber Pool” service in Paris. A service that since 2014 allows sharing VTC trips with other users, in order to reduce the cost of the race.
A service that returns to Paris this Thursday, August 25, in the application of the leader in VTC, with a new name “UberX Share”. This option will be offered when selecting the alternate transportation mode with “UberX”, “Sedan”, “Comfort”, “Van” or even “Green”.
What price drop?
Uber explains that it has optimized the general operation of this service, which is sometimes criticized for making detours that are too long or asking a user to go to a meeting point that is too far from where they were. Fixed issues according to giant VTC.
Expect a 10% lower price compared to a trip made with the UberX option. But the discount can potentially be higher if other passengers are picked up on board during the trip, with a maximum of three passengers using this service and a discount of up to 30%.
“Once the order is placed, the passenger receives a notification if another user goes in the same direction and shares the trip. If this is the case, the price of the trip is automatically reduced and the amount of this reduction varies according to the detour: the longer, the greater the reduction”, specifies the Uber press release.
Important clarification, therefore it is not possible to be accompanied (in short: to carry out this race sharing with one or more relatives), unlike the other options that allow a trip with four people, or even six for the “Van” option.
A new sign of post-covid recovery
This return was expected, especially among young people aged 18 to 34, who represented 56% of users of the service, with the majority of trips made between Paris and the suburbs for nights out.
“The launch of UberX Share thus responds to the request of Uber’s youngest customers to benefit from an on-demand mobility service, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and at an affordable price in a context of price increase on the eve of the start of the school year. “, emphasizes the press release.
In addition, this also allows you to reduce the carbon footprint of your evening return, for “users looking for mobility with a controlled environmental impact,” adds Uber.
Paris stands out as the first city in Europe to find this shared shopping service.
It has already been reactivated since the end of 2021 in Africa (Nairobi in Kenya, Accra in Ghana and Lagos in Nigeria), in Australia (Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth) and since June 2022 in the United States (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, San Diego, Portland, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh).
Source: BFM TV
