Uber Launches Group Rides in India to Help Reduce Cars on Roads

GURGAON: Uber has launched a new feature in India called “Group Rides,” which allows riders to share their rides with up to three friends headed to the same destination. The feature aims to reduce the number of cars on the road and offers riders the opportunity to save up to 30% on their fare by splitting it with their friends.

To use the feature, riders can add their friends to their Uber ride by sharing details of the ride through messaging apps. Once the friends join the journey, they can add their own pickup locations, which will get updated to the ride. The feature also aims to decongest roads by reducing the need for individual vehicles when groups of friends, colleagues, or relatives are headed toward the same destination.

Commenting on the launch of the new feature, Nitish Bhushan, Director of Central Operations, at Uber India, said, “We are always innovating for our customers and looking at ways to make travel more affordable and seamless. With Group Rides, we are offering customers the option to save more while they are riding with people they know. Not only do riders save money and arrive at the common destination together, they also do the good deed of reducing vehicles on the road by getting more butts in fewer cars.“

Group Rides ensures the driver’s earnings aren’t impacted negatively, as they would continue to receive the same amount according to the route they take, as they would in an Uber Go or Uber Premier ride.

To book a Group Ride trip, riders can tap the Group Ride icon in the updated Uber app, begin a request for a Group Ride, and review the booking details in the app. They can then invite friends to join the ride by sending them a link to the trip, allowing friends to add their own stops, wait for the driver-partner, and enjoy the ride.

Uber’s mission is to create opportunity through movement. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.