Want to escape the noise and fury of late-evening Bangalore traffic, but don't quite want to shell out? UberPOOL, the ride-sharing behemoth's new car-pooling service, promises to fix that.
The initiative is already up in American cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, and in Paris besides. You can hire a ride, and split the cost with someone who's going in the same direction.
The feature works as an optional app install, and a beta version is currently live. According to their website, you can currently request an uberPOOL trip from Koramangala, Inner ring road and Indira Nagar.
Announcing #uberPOOL: share the ride, split the cost! A smarter way to move, arriving soon: http://t.co/cCIRvabmtx%3C/a%3E?utm_source=LBB&ref=lbbpost pic.twitter.com/ZRHpBOwBtP
— Uber India (@Uber_India) September 21, 2015
This makes our beloved ooru the first city in the country to get the car-pooling service, and we've gotta say, we're proud. Other Indian cities are already going green with envy.
The service is kinda like Chennai's share-autos, if you think about it. But with a bit more room, of course, and air-conditioning for when the heat's up. It's also being spoken of as a way to also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion.
Perhaps correctly anticipating the various etiquette lapses that might occur, they've also helpfully put up an etiquette guide, with suggestions that you not speak too loudly during a shared ride, or avoid heated conversations about political topics. Let's just say we're looking forward to an Indian edition.
Featured image via Uber Newsroom.