Car-Pooling Helps Uber Go the Extra Mile
In the past, Uber has been used mainly for one person or a couple of people who are traveling together, to get from their beginning location, to their destination. However, Uber has recently come out with a new choice for Uber customers, UberPool. By clicking this selection while choosing a destination, you are ultimately sharing a cab with a stranger. As quoted in the New York Times; "UberPool works like a party line for cars." This "party line" picks up a customer, but after that customer is picked up, it picks up another completely different individual from a completely different location who is going to either the same location as the original customer, or somewhere close to it. This is an appealing yet strange option for Uber customers because it gives them the ability to spend less money by technically "splitting" their Uber with someone else, with the risk of being stuck with a stranger. However, unlike the normal Uber selection, to choose UberPool, the customer must call up the app to distinguish where they are trying to go, and UberPool will match that customer with others going that way. This Uber option gives customers a significant discount ultimately saving them money. I believe that this new selection for Uber customers will become extremely popular, especially in large cities where the Uber prices tend to surge regularly and the normal price is also quite expensive. Overall, by creating new selections for customers, Uber is making a smart decision. They are assessing the reviews they have been receiving about their pricing rates, and finding an in-between that benefits both the customers, and the company at the same time.
Manjoo, Farhad. "Car-Pooling Helps Uber Go the Extra Mile." The New York Times. The New York Times, 30 Mar. 2016. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
I agree with you and believe that UberPool is a smart option for people looking to save money when Uber is consistently surging. Due to the high demand of Ubers, especially in areas around college campuses and in high demand cities such as Washington D.C. and even Baltimore, surging is charging customer up to 5 times the regular price to get from Point A to Point B. This is causing the regular customers of Uber to lose faith in the service and look towards other options such as other cab companies or Lyft, an app similar to Uber. I think this option appeals to college age kids and will be an effective way at regaining customers who cannot afford the high surges.
ReplyDeleteOne drawback from this service is the increased amount of time one may have to spend in the Uber. If the corresponding customer is going somewhere slightly out of the way than you it may pose a threat to your schedule. However, if properly accounted for when calling the service, hopefully this issue can be avoided.
As someone who takes an Uber more often than driving myself, your article sparked my interest immediately. I agree that UberPool seems like an interesting option for users of the app in really populated areas. Although, I do think there seems to be apparent pros and cons of using UberPool. I think a major con of using UberPool is having a time constraint on travelling. Having to pick up more people at different locations will definitely take more time than riding alone to your destination, especially if there is traffic. Having to organize a group going to the same location through the app will take more time than riding alone would. Also, I am wondering if you are charged for the extra mileage of driving to pick up other pool-riders. Though, this still sounds like a cheaper option, considering how high surges are. A less obvious pro of using UberPool is that it is better for the environment. UberPool is basically a glorified car pool, which promotes creating less pollution.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Uber will most likely see success through launching UberPool as an option for customers. I don’t think that it can hurt with giving customers more options. It wouldn’t affect the Uber drivers either, because an UberXL could function as an UberPool, also.
Although this is a good idea in thought, I think that it has a lot of flaws that are being overlooked. First of all, how does the pricing of this work? If the person who is picked up first has to pay for the ride to pick up the second person by themselves, and then they split the cost of the ride from the second person’s location to the destination, the first person may not end up saving that much while the second person is getting a good deal.
ReplyDeleteAnother flaw that was also pointed out in the previous comment is the increased amount of time spent travelling that could pose a threat to your schedule. When I use an Uber, I am generally on a schedule and am trying to get from point A to point B in a timely manner.
A third issue is when you request an uber, you are able to see the driver and their rating. If you for some reason don’t feel comfortable taking that Uber, you can cancel the ride and request a new Uber with a different driver. Drivers also can see you and your rating as a passenger and have the option to cancel your ride if they don’t feel comfortable driving you. Agreeing to ride with a complete stranger could be daunting depending on where you are or what time you are riding. Is there a way for a passenger to decided they aren’t comfortable picking someone up and just taking the Uber as a regular UberX or UberXL?
Overall, I see why Uber would want to develop something like UberPool to try and help reduce their customer’s costs, but it has a lot of variables that still need some time and practice to work out. Uber seems to being coming out with UberPool in response to complaints about surge charges. I think with Ubers growing demand they may need to try to find a way to always have more drivers on the road so that people don’t try and use apps like Lyft when the Uber surges get too high.
This is an interesting new option for those who are interested in utilizing ride apps, such as Uber. This is useful who those who mostly travel alone, and are looking for a way to save some money, or for those who cannot afford the usual Uber fares. In large cities such as New York City the surges can often become very high, and especially with the large amount of traffic the fares can end up costing a person a lot of money. For people who are traveling to and from work, spending too much money is not logical, and if they were traveling to an area where many other people would be heading (like if the work on Wall Street), this would be the most logical option. In addition, there are taxis, in areas such as Hoboken, New Jersey, who do this already and it is successful. For example, when you get off the path in Hoboken there is a line you wait in for a taxi, and when you get close they take all the people in the line near by who are going to a similar area. This saves everyone in the car money. One negative could be the fact that you do not know who that other person, or people are who you will be sharing the car will be. This could worry some people in terms of safety. Although, if one person is too worried about this they will still have the option to use Uber’s other features to take a car by themselves. Overall this is a smart idea by Uber, and once again gives them an edge over their competitors.
ReplyDeleteI can agree that on the surface this is a good idea. Theoretically this would save people money but I don't think we have enough information. If I request UberPool and I am the first to be picked up wouldn't I be taking a longer route to my destination making it closer to the same price that it would be normally? Would it even be worth it if I have to share the car with a complete stranger? It is a little worrisome to share a car with someone you know nothing about. Additionally, when I am taking an Uber I usually need to be somewhere at a specific time. I don't have time to be waiting around. You would need to add in extra travel time making travel, something that is already a pain even more time consuming. I guess if you don't need to be somewhere at a specific time this could be a viable option for you but I don't think it really appeals to me.
ReplyDeleteUber is trying to expand their market and UberPool would be a great way to do this. This new idea would allow more customers to be picked up using less resources. Also, it will be cheaper for the user. It'll be better than just taking a cab. However, this could create problems if someone is in a rush going to work and they don't have time to wait for the Uber driver to pick someone else up. I'm wondering when or if this new technology would be implemented and exactly what cities would use this new and improved Uber technology. This could really help Uber stand out from the rest of their competition.
ReplyDeleteI found this article and your response to it very interesting. I use the Uber App and am definitely aware that when splitting the cost with others on the trip it brings a huge savings. I think this is a good idea for Uber to both give travelers a cheaper ride option as well as to be more green. However, I see problems with this new addition. I can see potential problems occurring between strangers traveling together and I can see more complaints coming out of this. Going off of what Matthew said, this would also cause added travel time which can be a negative for many people using the app. If all of these problems can be solved, however, I believe this would be a successful addition, mainly because of the price reduction.
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