Londoners can now get UberPool in more locations
Uber is expanding its ride-sharing service UberPool in the capital outside of central London to cover zones one and two.
The billion dollar startup which has had run ins with regulators and black cab drivers since it first launched in London in 2012 introduced UberPool late last year.
The service offers cheaper fares to passengers than the standard Uber X service, if they share the journey with a stranger heading in the same direction. Hundreds of thousands of journeys have already been made in London with the service, the company said and in some cities already accounts for half of all Uber journeys.
Read more: Toyota invests in Uber to launch ride-sharing partnership
New areas covered in the extended area include Hackney in the east and Hammersmith to the west as well as Peckham south of the river and and Holloway to the north. Uberpool will also be available further than zone two, specifically on journeys to Heathrow.
Uber is offering a two week promotion of UberPool rides of just £5 on weekday evenings wherever they're going within the extended areas in a bid to encourage people to use it. At a talk last week, Uber boss Travis Kalanick described the goal of UberPool being used by commuters to help reduce the number of cars on the road.
Read more: Now you can pitch your startup idea to a VC in an Uber
“The more people share their Uber journey with another Londoner the more we can help to reduce congestion and air pollution in our city," said London boss, Tom Elvidge.
"That’s why we’re expanding uberPool and giving more Londoners the option to leave their own car at home and share an Uber to get from A to B instead. Getting more people into fewer cars is what uberPool is all about and why we want more Londoners to try it out."