City first in India to get Uber car pool

Car-pooling might never have taken off in a big way in the City, but taxi aggregator Uber announced on Monday that it has chosen Bengaluru to be the first Indian city for its UberPOOL car-pooling project.  

The service, introduced a few months ago in San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Austin (Texas) and Paris, will be available in Bengaluru in the “coming weeks”, said an Uber statement. 

“Commuters can share a ride — and split the cost — with another person who happens to be requesting a ride along a similar route,” said the statement. 

The company claimed riders could save up to 50 per cent of the cost, “while adding only a few minutes of time per trip”. The objective is to help people move past car ownership.

To be run as a pilot project in Bengaluru, UberPOOL will eventually expand to select Indian cities. 

Uber had launched its taxi services in the country less than two years ago. Currently, the service is available in 22 cities, engaging 1.65 lakh drivers on its platform.  Despite its advantages in decongesting roads, car-pooling has not taken off in Bengaluru.