Yesterday Uber launched its car pool service UberShare, following on from its launch of UberEats just a month ago.
As is often the case, Seoul is the first to get the service, which will operate during peak commuting times between 6am – 10am, and 5pm – 12am on weekdays. UberShare currently only operates for carpools leaving from within Gangnam District, meaning it won’t initially be of much use to anyone living outside of this area.
While Uber has certainly made a name for itself worldwide, it will be going up against several Korean competitors such such as Poolus, TitiCaca and Luxi that are already well established in the current market.
UberShare can be used through the current Uber app by entering your destination and then clicking the share icon. If you get a match, your driving partner’s name, phone and car information is displayed, along with the cost. The basic fare for the service is 1500 won, plus 50 won for each minute and 450 won per every km.
For anyone that wants to sign up as a driver with UberShare, this can be done via the homepage. Of course, you’ll need to upload your driver’s license, registration and insurance information and any other required documents.
As part of the launch, the company has also signed an MOU with the Korea Green Foundation, an organization for environmental issues. The partnership will carry out an ‘eco-driver’ campaign to reduce air pollution, along with the number of cars on the road.
Uber has had a rocky history in Korea with the company’s attempt at launching UberX failing in 2015 after it violated the Passenger Transport Business Act. Despite going head-to-head with the government in previous years, since then the company has changed its tone here, working with the government to get its services off the ground again. Korea will no doubt continue to be a hard market to thrive in, with plenty of strong Korean competitors that customers aren’t likely to move on from.
