Uber launches UberCommute, a carpooling service starting in China

Virtual cab-hailing service Uber has launched an intriguing new pilot scheme in China. To steal a phrase from Lyft, Uber is attempting to “unlock every seat, in every car” by testing out a new carpool service – UberCommute – for commuters willing to pick up a passenger going their way. The driver then decides whether to accept the request or not. They simply select People’s Uber+ (our Chinese UberPOOL service), input their destination and then our systems match them with a driver going the same way. From the passenger’s point of view, it sounds like the experience will be more or less the same as requesting a regular Uber vehicle .

The new program could encourage more people who hold day jobs to sign on as Uber drivers and increase cab availability during peak hours. French company BlaBlaCar, a new addition to the billion dollar “unicorn” club thanks to a recent $160 million funding round, pioneered ride sharing over longer distances/commutes. It isn’t present in China right now but it did expand to India earlier this year.

On the rider side, the service – which Didi Kuaidi already offers – works nearly exactly like it works if the rider was hailing a People’s Uber Plus, which is UberChina’s answer to UberPool. But don’t worry: that’s just because it’s the company’s number one city in the world, and it plans to roll the service out around the rest of the globe in time.

UberCommute will pair drivers with passengers heading in the same direction.