The New Cheapest Way to Use Uber – But Is It Worth the Effort?

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Via The Points Guy, Uber is giving folks a new way to save even more when carpooling.

Express POOL is an option that is up to ~70% cheaper than UberX, and ~30% cheaper than UberPOOL.  But it’s not available in many cities just yet.  And catching a ride requires more effort on your part!

The New Cheapest Way To Use Uber But Is It Worth The Effort
Uber Express POOL Requires Some Walking!

Here’s what you need to know.

Express POOL Is the New Cheapest Way to Ride With Uber

Link:   Express POOL

Express POOL is Uber‘s newest (and cheapest!) option to get where you’re going.  But there is a downside!

The point of the new service is to give folks a more direct route when they carpool.  Express POOL is reminiscent of catching a bus.

When you use Express POOL, Uber will give you walking directions for where to meet your ride.  After you request a ride, the app will take a few moments to find other riders along your route, and then request that each of you walk to a corner along the route.  Making it easier for the Uber driver to swing by and pick you up without driving down a bunch of side streets!

The New Cheapest Way To Use Uber But Is It Worth The Effort
If There’s a Rider Nearby, Uber Will Instruct You to Meet Each Other at the Same Location for a Quick Pickup

At the end of your ride, you’ll be dropped off near your destination, at a location that is reasonable for all riders.

Basically, you may need to walk to a rendezvous point to meet your Uber driver, and then walk to your destination after he drops you off.  But a 30% to 70% savings could definitely be worth the extra energy!

Express POOL is NOT available in all cities yet.  But by the end of the week, it should be available in:

  • Boston
  • Denver
  • Los Angeles
  • Miami
  • Philadelphia
  • San Diego
  • San Francisco
  • Washington, DC

Bottom Line

Uber’s new option, Express POOL, will minimize detours when you pool with other riders.

Uber will find all riders heading your direction, and give you a pick-up spot along the route.  That may require a few minutes of walking, but you could save anywhere from 30% to 70% compared to Uber’s other services!  And requesting that all riders meet along the route will help improve your destination ETA.

Express POOL isn’t available nationwide yet.  But it should be available in 8 major US cities by the end of the week!

What do you think of this new service?

Million Mile Secrets features a team of points and miles experts who have traveled to over 80 countries and have used 60+ credit cards responsibly to accumulate loyalty points and travel the world on the cheap! The Million Mile Secrets team has been featured on The Points Guy, TIME, Yahoo Finance and many other leading points & miles media outlets.

Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)

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