Uber to introduce 'Express Pool' - faster rides at lower rates

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - JULY 14: A taxi of the Uber Company pass by on the street in Moscow, Russia, on July 14,2017. Uber and Yandex, the "Google of Russia", have agreed to combine their Russian ride-sharing businesses, with Yandex the leading partner in a deal that extends to five nearby markets. (Photo by Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Uber has announced that it will be launching one of the cheapest cab services called ‘Express Pool,’ in which people will be required to walk small distances to a spot along the route where they can meet their driver.

Meeting the driver at a scheduled point rather than your doorstep can reduce fares by almost 50 percent for an Uber Pool ride and by 75 percent for an UberX ride, in India.

Regional general manager of Uber, Prabhjeet Singh said in an interview published in The Hindu BusinessLine, that Uber is piloting the feature in India as part of expanding its lowest cost offerings.

He added that the company is operating in more than 31 cities across India and has plans to expand whenever feedback to improve a particular service comes from customers.

‘Express Pool’ is currently under test and the final service will be launched shortly in India, one of the largest markets for the pool service.

Uber could hold monopoly in this segment as this feature has not been initiated by any other Indian company. Many bus pool services were offered by several startups and even Ola had a shuttle service, but these were shut down by early 2018 due to low demand. To offer low fare rides, Ola is partnering with Bajaj Auto to introduce quadricycles in the future.

Ola has been known to keep an eye on its rival Uber to maintain its monopoly in the market. Thus, there is a high probability of finding such features offered by Ola in the near future.