Ridehale and delivery giant Uber presents cheap, fixed rides along busy corridors during weekday commute hours in major US cities.
Starting Wednesday, riders in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco can save 50% on Uberx travel prices by booking with Uber's new “Route Sharing” feature.
The company has announced route shares and other new features and discounts designed to help customers save money on rides and delivery at the annual Gott event. The aim is to attract and maintain a loyal customer base that continues to use the Uber app despite external economic pressures.
According to Uber's Chief Product Officer Sachin Kansal, the commuter shuttle runs every 20 minutes between preset stops. He noted that each launch city has dozens of routes, such as between Williamsburg and Midtown in New York. Routes selected based on Uber's extensive data on popular travel patterns may have one or two additional stops to pick up other passengers. First, riders must share their routes with up to two other co-riders.
Riders can reserve a seat from 7 days to 10 minutes before the scheduled pickup. The app provides turn-by-turn direction, and turn-by-turn direction from the house to the corner.
Uber relies on the same underlying technology that it uses for Uber Share. It offers shared rides that allow riders to save 15% to 30% off the cost of their Uberx rides by pooling with others. Kansal tells TechCrunch that Uber completes millions of shared trips each year and has seen more traction recently as riders are looking for ways to save more ways. So route sharing.
“The network sizes are available on both the consumer and driver side, on the core matching and market-based technology, so you can do this and create efficiency and predictability for commuting while having multiple people in the same car,” Kansal told TechCrunch.
Uber envisions a future in which route shares can qualify for pre-tax commuting benefits. However, as the spokesman pointed out, the company needs to find a way to match these trips with the Uber XL vehicle. This is because only six-seater vehicles meet the eligibility requirements.
Potential progression of route sharing includes self-driving cities, especially in chaotic cities like New York City.
Uber has partnered with 18 AV companies, and during revenue streams last week in the first quarter, the company reported that it had grown to an annual rate of 1.5 million mobility and streaming AV trips on the Uber network.
One of Uber's latest AV partners is with Volkswagen. The two plans are to work together to add an autonomous version of the VW ID. The Buzz Abar app (especially electric vehicles exclusively for shared rides) will begin in Los Angeles in 2026.
“We can also see the natural extension of how we can bring route share to self-driving cars,” Kansal said. “[Route Share] Autonomous vehicles have many advantages. This is a very well defined route, so pickup and drop-off are predictable. ”
Other ways to save frequently by uber users
Image credit: Uber
Each Uber event has a theme. Last year it focused on how to help people spend more time together. With President Trump's tariffs, massive layoffs across the technology world, and the economic uncertainty that will bring AI to every job this year, Uber is focusing on cutting riders' costs. Along the way, Uber wants to create predictable cash flow and stickiness that Riders will continue to engage with Uber.
“What we've heard so loudly and clearly recently is that people feel very uncertain, people are overwhelmed, people feel prices across a variety of life paths. “So everything we're making life more affordable is totally focused on how to make life more affordable.”
One of the new features of Uber is “Ride Passes.” This means that riders can “use it to protect the price of windows for an hour each day on a selected route.” There are two ways this works: Either riders can pay $2.99 to lock the price on a specific route or pay upfront to buy a bunch of prepaid trips. You can buy 5, 10, 15 or 20 vehicles for a “deep discount.”
Riders from Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, San Francisco and Washington DC will be the rest of the riders from the US and Brazil starting Wednesday. In the fall, Pricelock and prepaid passes will also be available for teenage accounts.
On the Uber Eats side, Uber goes deep into its partnership with Opentable and launches a feature called Dine Out. This allows customers in the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Ireland and Australia to book tables through the Uber app Opentable. If they book (either with the Uber app or Opentable app), you will get a discount on Uber rides to the restaurant. Additionally, Opentable members can immediately use points in Uber and Uber Eats. This is not like Uber's partnership with Delta Air Lines.
These types of trades can offer riders savings, especially during peak demand times when surge pricing is effective. However, they are more beneficial to people who use Uber's services frequently. Prepaid packages often feel cheaper with prepaid discounts, but riders can also overestimate how much they spend.
Uber's pricing strategy is also not transparent, and some reports suggest that riders with prepaid credit or gift cards will get higher fare estimates compared to those who pay per ride. (An anecdote, every time you switch payment methods from your personal card to your business card, the ride price is a few dollars.)
An Uber spokesperson told TechCrunch that the price lock feature is based on the historic price of the trip, while the prepaid pass protects against price spikes and adds discounts based on historical prices.