Latest news with #RouteShare
Metro
17-05-2025
- Business
- Metro
'Uber has innovated so hard… they invented a bus'
Uber is launching a new service in the US called Route Share and the internet isn't impressed. Several social media posters have mocked the offering, saying the company have basically 'invented the bus'. Unveiling Route Share in a blog post, Uber said the service would allow riders to share a car over a predetermined route with with designated pickup points. Speaking at a conference, Uber's head of product Sachin Kansal: 'We ask the riders to walk a few blocks to a predetermined point at a predetermined time to participate in a predetermined route which they will share with a couple of other riders. We call that Route Share.' It will cost up to 50% less than UberX the firm said on its blog, with savings made if you buy subscriptions or prepaid passes. The user goes into their Uber app and puts in where they will be going from and their desired destination and the app will show you nearby routes with pickups available every 20 minutes. The driver will then wait for up to two minutes before the cost rises. Similar to UberX Share, you could be riding with up to two others. One TikTok user, 'Sharkveyno', shared a video of Kansal explaining the concept, before telling viewers: 'Uber made buses. Our brightest, most innovative minds have recreated buses. 'They'll really do anything than have affordable transportation in the United States.' Uber aren't actually the first to test this type of idea. In 2017 Lyft, another US ride hailing service, piloted Shuttle, which worked in a similar fashion. It was never rolled out fully, however. There was also Ford's Chariot, which ran in nine US cities as well as London and offered commuter shuttle services. After launching in 2014, it shut five years later in 2019. Citymapper's Smartbus, which was later known as SmartRide, then simply Ride, didn't fare much better. It launched in 2018 with a fleet of eight-seater buses that picked up and dropped off passengers at fixed points in central London and took specific predetermined routes. It lasted little more than a year. More Trending Uber do actually run a more regular type of bus service in the US and India, which is called Uber Shuttle. It uses normal size buses, which take a predetermined route at set times and users book their seat through the app. Route Share will be available in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, and Baltimore, with more cities to come, according to Uber. It's not clear if the firm plans to bring the service to the UK. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: 'Armed and dangerous' prisoners escape through hole behind toilet while guard was on break MORE: The UK's 'much needed' only floating train line reopens after eight months MORE: The £14,000,000,000 plan to fix the north's 'broken' rail network
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Uber introducing budget-friendly option for commuters
(NewsNation) — Uber has introduced a new budget-friendly option for commuters. Earlier this week, the company unveiled 'Route Share,' which allows users to share a ride with up to two other passengers along busy corridors for up to 50% less than the cost of UberX. Spain will limit access to Madrid's airport to try to prevent homeless camping 'Route Share offers consistent and frequent pickup options along direct routes during morning and evening commute hours (6-10 a.m. and 4-8 p.m. local time Monday through Friday),' the company said in a news release. 'With pickups every 20 minutes along busy corridors during weekday commute hours, you'll get the predictability and comfort of Uber, for even less (up to 50% cheaper than UberX).' Uber said the program will initially be available in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, and Baltimore. More cities are expected to be added in the future. The company has not announced a start date for the 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Uber introducing budget-friendly option for commuters
Ridesharing app Uber has introduced a new budget-friendly option for commuters. Earlier this week, the company unveiled 'Route Share,' which allows users to share a ride with up to two other passengers along busy corridors for up to 50 percent less than the cost of UberX. 'Route Share offers consistent and frequent pickup options along direct routes during morning and evening commute hours (6-10 a.m. and 4-8 p.m. local time Monday through Friday),' the company said in a news release. 'With pickups every 20 minutes along busy corridors during weekday commute hours, you'll get the predictability and comfort of Uber, for even less (up to 50% cheaper than UberX),' the company wrote. Uber said the program will initially be available in large cities, including New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, and Baltimore. More cities are expected to be added in the future. The company has not announced a start date for the program.
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
'Uber's Invented Buses!' Uber Targets Commuters With Route Share
Tech companies have been accused of inventing the bus before — notably with Tesla's Robovan and Lyft's Suttle, while Elon Musk's Loop has been described as a subway — so Uber must have seen this coming with Route Share. In a blog post, Uber unveiled Route Share: a new offering from Uber that lets riders share a car over a preset route with designated pickup points for a lower cost. At a conference, Uber's head of product Sachin Kansal said: "We ask the riders to walk a few blocks to a predetermined point at a predetermined time to participate in a predetermined route which they will share with a couple of other riders. We call that Route Share." Everyone else calls that the bus — and plenty of people on social media were keen to point that out, with mocking posts noting that "Uber's invented the bus". Of course, it worked when Uber "reinvented" taxis, though plenty of others have tried to create on-demand private buses without success, notably CityMapper's on-demand "Smart Bus" in London, Ford's Chariot and Lyft Shuttle in the US. Given those stumbles, it may seem surprising that Uber is shifting into something similar to public transport, but it's previously had success with Uber Pool, since rebranded as Uber Share in most regions, and back in 2018, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said: 'I want to run the bus systems for a city… I want you to be able to take an Uber and get into the subway… and get out and have an Uber waiting for you.' And with the US federal government pulling back on funding for public transport and publicly run services struggling to win back commuters post COVID, it's easy to see why private companies are seeing an opportunity once again. That poses a challenge for public services, if it manages to draw bus riders off the existing public services onto a private network. Why? It means the lucrative routes will earn less in fares, making it harder to pay for less profitable routes or to pay to enable accessibility. Kansal suggested public buses weren't the target, but cars. "We are complementary to public transit," he told the Verge. 'We think of this as a journey towards lower and lower car ownership, as people transition from driving themselves over to using products like Uber Share and now Route Share.' Uber has said similar about its ride-sharing/taxi service, including via its One Less Car trial run in 2024, though research has suggested Uber has led to a decline in bus ridership in London, largely owning to congestion damaging the quality of those services. Here's how Uber says Route Share will work. During morning and evening commuting times — 6am to 10am and then 4pm to 8pm on weekdays — Route Share services will run along set routes with a pickup every 20 minutes. Book a spot in a car, and the driver will meet you at a nearby corner and wait for up to two minutes before charging you more. There will be up to two other riders in the car, and it will cost "up to" half the price of a regular UberX ride. Uber is also offering a way to lock in the price for a specific route by paying a subscription charge, as well as a prepaid pass, in which you buy your bus – sorry, Route Share – fare in a pack of up to 20 ahead of time for a discount. Ride passes will also be made available for teenagers, 'making the school run… easier than ever'. At launch, Route Share will be available in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, and Baltimore, with more cities to come, Uber says.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Uber bets on affordability with shared fixed-route rides, expanded passes
Uber Technologies on Wednesday unveiled a range of new offerings such as shared fixed-route rides and expanded membership passes, targeting consumers seeking cost-effective ways to travel. The ride-sharing app has been looking to invest in more affordable transport and delivery offerings to widen its user base and combat slowing revenue growth in an uncertain economic environment. Uber's new "Route Share" ride option will cost half as much as the company's UberX ride-hail service, by providing pickups every 20 minutes along busy commute corridors. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Air conditioners without external unit. (click to see prices) Air Condition | Search Ads Search Now Undo Initially available in cities such as New York, San Francisco and Chicago, Route Share will operate during weekday rush hours and Uber is considering partnering with employers to integrate pre-tax commuter benefits. The company is also expanding ride passes that help users lock-in lower fares and keep costs predictable. Live Events These ride passes will be available in major U.S. cities such as Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco, and will be expanded to teen accounts later this year. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Uber unveiled Price Lock Pass for $2.99 in February and it was initially available in a few U.S. markets. The feature will now be available across several cities in the United States and expand throughout the country and Brazil this year, the company said. The company had announced a partnership with Volkswagen to deploy a fleet of thousands of the German automaker's fully electric ID. Buzz AD vehicles as robotaxis next year. The vehicles will also be used for shared self-driving taxi rides. Uber is also scaling its tie-up with Waymo in Austin, aiming to increase the number of robotaxis to hundreds of vehicles in the coming months.
