In the end, Uber Pool had to go. By mid-March 2020, chunks of America were already in lockdown, AMC had boarded up its movie theaters, and the country

Uber Pool Is a Zombie

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2022-07-05 19:30:06

In the end, Uber Pool had to go. By mid-March 2020, chunks of America were already in lockdown, AMC had boarded up its movie theaters, and the country’s toilet-paper reserves were getting wiped out. The novel coronavirus was here, and sharing rides with strangers in a different stranger’s car had become yet another part of life upended by the pandemic. “If you must travel” using any of Uber’s other options, the company made sure to note on March 17, the day it officially disabled the pooling feature on its app, “please keep your driver’s well-being in mind by washing your hands before and after entering the vehicle.”

Before the pandemic, shared rides (both from Uber Pool and its biggest competitor, Lyft Line) were an inescapable part of urban life for the professional class. They were the dive bar of ride hailing: always cheap, mostly chaotic. But while just about every other mode of transportation has long since returned—goodbye masks on planes, hello cruise ships—Uber Pool has been nowhere to be found. Yes, people can still order Ubers for themselves, but the drama (and the very occasional joy) of schlepping across town while avoiding eye contact with two other Poolers has vanished.

Until now … kind of. I guess? A couple weeks ago, the ride-hailing juggernaut debuted its new take on pooled rides, “UberX Share,” in nine American cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh. The name is different and worse, and so are the deals. Uber Pool would give you a flat-rate discount before booking, up to 50 percent cheaper than just riding solo. With UberX Share, there’s lots of fine print: Riders get a tiny deal up front and then up to 20 percent off if you match with another rider along the way (and that match can only be with a single rider).

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