One of the latest adventures in the Uber ridesharing landscape is UberPool. UberPool is a cool option where riders share the cost of the ride and get matched based on similar routes and only pay for the portion of the entire trip that applies at a discounted rate.

UberPool matches you with another rider heading in the same direction and driving to pick up rider #2 (up to a party of 2) may only add a few minutes to the rider #1 trip, however it represents huge savings for the riders and a great opportunity for the Uber driver to earn on the “transition drive” leg to pick up the 2nd rider which is normally not paid out on a single UberX fare. While trips are up to 50% less than UberX, the demand that UberPool creates significantly outways the discount to the Uber driver as it adds well needed daily volume to the number of potential trips that can be completed in a single day. With added demand is important in slow seasonal times such as after the spring break and summer — so promotions like $3.85 UberPool rides make perfect sense — while the rates remain constant for Uber drivers regardless of incentives or promotions!

As a Uber driver, you are required to wait at least two minutes for each rider in the POOL ride while you are required to wait at least five minutes for the Uber rider with UberX. In the case, where rider #1 is waiting for rider #2, a two-minute wait is more than reasonable. Uber drivers are able to pocket more money with UberPool rides without a match/single rider for the entire trip as the minimum rate is higher than UberX so completing a lot of short UberPool rides without a match can mean more money in the pocket of the Uber driver at the end of the day!

UberPool was really designed to fight congestion and allow riders to share car space which is a premium in big cities like New York City and Chicago. Riders are able to split the cost of the trip with another Uber rider heading in the same direction. Uber brings a lot of innovation to the landscape by attacking the perils of congestion head-on with UberPool. While the average time of an UberPool trip is less than five minutes, it has numerous advantages for both the Uber rider and the Uber driver.

UberPool is simply another resource for Uber drivers to profit from at the end of the day: more trips means more opportunities to give out $20 off promo cards and earn more trip credits for Momentum Rewards. You could easily see an increase of $50 – $80 a week with higher volume of UberPool as more riders now have your free $20 Off Uber Ride Credit Promo Cards for first time riders in circulation!

An extra $50 – $80 a week adds up pretty quick!

Oh – and the dog? Just another Kodak moment while Ubering on the streets of South Florida.

This fella was as huge as a wolf (and there were two of them in the back seat of that car – they were HUGE!).