Minicab company Uber has launched a new service in Seattle which allows riders to save money and time by waiting for their cab in a pre-arranged location, sharing it with strangers, and being dropped off at any point along a predetermined route.
It’s a bus. Uber has launched a bus. Albeit a car-sized bus.
The service, called UberHop, is the second ridesharing feature from the taxi firm. The first, UberPool, launched in London last week, and is a more traditional spin on sharing a taxi: the app automatically pairs riders with someone going in a similar direction, and lets them save money on the overall bill.
But UberPool can also make rides longer, given the car has to go out of its way to pick up and drop off the second passenger. And, Uber noticed, a lot of riders end up travelling along much the same routes. So UberHop was born, allowing riders to congregate at a pre-arranged pick up location (similar to a bus stop) on one of three routes (similar to bus routes) and then be dropped off elsewhere on those routes (similar to a bus).
The company also says in a blogpost that it hopes UberHop will help reduce congestion, like a bus does, by making it easy and affordable for people to share rides, like buses do.
