Uber bringing back shared rides in New York, San Francisco

America is ready to take rides with strangers again, at least as far as Uber’s concerned.

The ride-share company is bringing back its pool program which allows riders to save some money by sharing their trip with a stranger who is going in the same direction.

Riders in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, San Diego, Portland, Oregon, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh are eligible for discounted trips. The company had been quietly offering shared rides in Miami since November 2021.

Uber app displayed on a screen (DENIS CHARLET/)

The service was suspended in 2020 because of COVID-19. Lyft, which has a similar feature, restarted its version in Philadelphia and Miami last year with San Francisco, San Jose, California, Denver, Las Vegas and Atlanta coming soon.

The service has also been rebranded to “UberX Share” instead of “Uber Pool.”

The company said carpoolers will get an upfront discount and a second discount if they are joined during their trip by another rider. The company also said shared rides will never be more expensive than a regular, solo ride.

The company also said it had revamped the service to ensure that shared rides do not take too much longer than normal rides.

Uber added that the new feature is a boon for drivers too as they will have more paying customers per ride.