[Aditya]

Uber has launched a carpooling service in Delhi. The company has announced that UberGo will now be a carpooling first product.

Selecting the carpool option will connect users real-time with 1-2 passengers heading in the same direction. Uber claims that shared rides are up to 30% cheaper than traveling solo on UberGO.

Link to Team-BHP News Article

[PetrolRider]

One more Uber scam going round in Pune.
Specially when you are booking Uber from or to Airport, the driver tends to charge you an Airport surcharge, which will deduct Rs 85/-.
This is basically the airport parking fee which you have to pay on exit, provided you spent more than 5 minutes inside airport area. But most of the pick up and drops happens in lesser time and driver smoothly put that charge to you.

Happened to me and my friends multiple times now a days. Uber has refunded the excess charges only after few angry email exchange.

When next time you travel to or from airport, please make sure, whether he had paid the airport parking charge and if not please make sure it is not added to you final bill.

[Thilak29]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Uber has launched a carpooling service in Delhi

Great move, cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai can very well be listed too.
I wonder if this will go down well with taxi operators since it eats into their business. We may see courts intervening soon, SC seems all out in favour of measures to curtail pollution/traffic in Delhi though.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Uber has launched a carpooling service in Delhi. The company has announced that UberGo will now be a carpooling first product.

Selecting the carpool option will connect users real-time with 1-2 passengers heading in the same direction. Uber claims that shared rides are up to 30% cheaper than traveling solo on UberGO.

Link to Team-BHP News Article

This is quite interesting. If I read it right, I can sign up as a driver with my car, based on my destination, I can pick up riders willing to car pool and also get paid for it.

Looks to be a fine line between car pooling and sharing the cost vs running as a private taxi.

So if I am going to a destination that would cost Rs 100 on regular Uber, an Uber Pool Rider roughly has to pay Rs 80 (20% discount). So if I sign up and get 3 people for the ride, Uber gets Rs 240. They take a commission (20% I read somewhere) and they reimburse the driver his share plus a profit?

[Gansan]

If they include motorbikes, it will be even better!

But how can private cars legally carry passengers?

[pratyush6]

Slightly OT : Carpooling is encouraged by the Authorities and it ideally should be welcomed. We currently have apps for Carpooling but they either have very low members and/or are not very user friendly.
Perhaps its best left to Uber/Ola to do this in real time. Bangalore needs it, desperately. Imagine cutting down the cars by half!
I mean I drive everyday all alone, so do over 75% of the private cars, even if 30-40% people start using it, it could be a game-changer. I really dont want the driver to earn a profit but perhaps get reimbursed for the cost.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by PetrolRider

When next time you travel to or from airport, please make sure, whether he had paid the airport parking charge and if not please make sure it is not added to you final bill.

That's nothing. In Mumbai you have to pay a flat 110 fee for taking an uber/ola etc. Even if you spend less than 5 mins. Even then uber is cheaper than black and yellow cab.

Also you don't have to pay anything that is not mentioned on the receipt. So if the driver asks for cash in between the ride, he's trying to pull a quick on you.

[quickdraw]

I've actually used Uber Pool in their home city San Francisco, its an amazing service and used to cut down travel costs by a third at-least. And it was always fun to meet interesting people along the way. Some of them have even become friends.

I'm very excited that its starting in Delhi because ever since UBER launched in the country I've been trying to get on the platform, but unfortunately not only do you need a commercial driver licence (not that hard to procure) but also a car with Yellow Plates, which was impossible for me to obtain unless I buy a new car and get it registered as a Taxi.

I'm signing up to be an UBER driver, in my F30 328i

I'll be documenting my journey on T-BHP or a Medium post.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

I'm signing up to be an UBER driver, in my F30 328i

I'll be documenting my journey on T-BHP or a Medium post.

Wow. F30 3 series picking up people! This Is going to be an unexpected surprise to others and will lead to interesting conversations as well. Plus your commuting expense will reduce a bit!

Looking forward for your experience.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Wow. F30 3 series picking up people! This Is going to be an unexpected surprise to others and will lead to interesting conversations as well. Plus your commuting expense will reduce a bit!

Looking forward for your experience.

I won't be doing it to help with the commuting expense honestly, the money i'll get won't even offset the fuel cost (Petrol, 275hp 6.5km/l) but more for the fun and experience of meeting people. I just finished submitting all the documentation that they require, so fingers crossed!

[hserus]

Carpooling is encouraged because for all reasonable intents and purposes it means that you go and pick up three or four kids bound to the same school as your kid, colleagues that are on your route to the office etc.

It does not mean that you can operate a shared taxi sort of service for pay and call it carpooling.

Sooner or later, the RTO is going to strongarm drivers who signup for this to operate on a stage carriage license the way share autos, tata magic vans etc currently operate.

Also watch for some interesting reactions from the current stage carriage unions and their drivers.

Originally Posted by pratyush6

Slightly OT : Carpooling is encouraged by the Authorities and it ideally should be welcomed. We currently have apps for Carpooling but they either have very low members and/or are not very user friendly.
Perhaps its best left to Uber/Ola to do this in real time. Bangalore needs it, desperately. Imagine cutting down the cars by half!
I mean I drive everyday all alone, so do over 75% of the private cars, even if 30-40% people start using it, it could be a game-changer. I really dont want the driver to earn a profit but perhaps get reimbursed for the cost.

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by hserus

Carpooling is encouraged because for all reasonable intents and purposes it means that you go and pick up three or four kids bound to the same school as your kid, colleagues that are on your route to the office etc.

It does not mean that you can operate a shared taxi sort of service for pay and call it carpooling.

Agreed, but One person is never designated to pick up kids or colleagues and hence the costs are shared. Remember this is just like picking up people brought together by a platform and hence you would share costs (not operate at a profit) Shared Taxis operate for profit - there is a difference.

In the current scenario I am always driving alone as none of my colleagues stay in my way or work my timing. In case of say Uber/Ola operating this, you will have people whom you can pick up on the way and drop on the way, it saves fuel, cuts pollution, makes life so much easier for everyone else.

Taxi Unions - When most of these guys are already driving on their own and not necessarily using a taxi - how would it greatly impact them? Yes, they would shout, but as most shouting, this will be baseless.

Uber/Ola - can also come up with a rule of not allowing people to blatantly abuse the system by keeping a max on number of shared rides you can take or offer. I mean there are ways, if we want to do it. And there are reasons if we do not want to as well. It all boils down to what is that the authorities want.

[alpha1]

All it will take is one untoward incident in the carpool mode.
And we'll see daggers come out citing archaic govt regulations about private vehicles being used for such purpose and how Uber/Ola and other new age technology guys try ot bend the rules and laws and get away with it.

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

That's nothing. In Mumbai you have to pay a flat 110 fee for taking an uber/ola etc. Even if you spend less than 5 mins. Even then uber is cheaper than black and yellow cab.

Also you don't have to pay anything that is not mentioned on the receipt. So if the driver asks for cash in between the ride, he's trying to pull a quick on you.

All commercial vehicles entering the arrival area of the domestic and international airport are charged a flat fee of ₹110 & ₹120 respectively. This is irrespective of whether the car was parked for less than 5 mins or not - so this is not cheating by Uber.
It's just that the driver isn't supposed to ask any cash from the passenger as all the tolls / airport surcharge is automatically applied to the overall fare. So never ever pay cash for any parking / toll / surcharge to the driver.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

If I read it right, I can sign up as a driver with my car, based on my destination, I can pick up riders willing to car pool and also get paid for it.

Originally Posted by Gansan

But how can private cars legally carry passengers?

Originally Posted by quickdraw

I'm signing up to be an UBER driver, in my F30 328i

No, there is a misunderstanding. We cannot use our cars on private plates with Uber here in India unlike in the US and all. Yes, that policy sucks!

Even UberPool option is for sharing the cab that a rider is on.