Uber wants to make it more convenient to carpool without worrying about being late, so it's making a promise to get you to your destination on time.
It's more than a promise, actually, as Uber is offering discounts if its uberPool carpooling service makes you late.
Sharing your car with another commuter or two can help you save some cash, but it can also add another 15 minutes or more to your ride, depending on the detours and the number of times you have to stop to drop someone off.
To ensure you're not late even if you're riding with more passengers in the car, Uber is banking on punctuality with a new "Arrive By" feature. Users in Los Angeles will see a new estimated arrival time when they request a ride. That ETA is often later than the expected arrival time so you'd get a good error margin just in case.
If, for some reason, the commute ends up taking longer than estimated and you arrive late at your destination, uberPool will give you a $2 discount. That money will be shaved off your next ride with uberPool.
To take advantage of this new feature, first of all make sure that you have the very latest version of the Uber app installed. Next up, select uberPool and submit your locations for pickup and drop-off. The app will show you the "absolute latest time" you will reach your destination, even if more riders join the trip. This way, Uber is confident that most times you'll actually arrive earlier than the estimate.
The "Arrive By" feature is starting out in Los Angeles at first, but Uber wants to expand its availability to more markets soon.
As a reminder, back in April Uber announced higher rates for riders who show up late, leaving their driver waiting, or those who cancel the ride last-minute when the driver is already en route.
If charging Uber riders more for being late made sense, then so does offering discounts if riders arrive late to their destination because of uberPool. The company further points out that its uberPool carpooling service is already a success, counting more than 100,000 riders each week. Carpooling could become an even more popular option thanks to this latest feature, and in turn it could help decongest traffic and reduce pollution.
"In Los Angeles, for example, uberPOOL cut the number of miles driven by 7.9 million, and the amount of carbon dioxide by 1,400 metric tons in the first eight months of operation," highlights Uber.
No details are available yet as to when uberPool will make its "Arrive By" feature available in more markets other than Los Angeles, but we'll keep you posted as soon as we learn more.
