Uber's Route Share: Affordable Commute Shuttles in Major US Cities

Uber is introducing a new feature called "Route Share" that offers cheap, fixed-route rides along busy corridors during weekday commute hours in major U.S. cities. This initiative aims to provide a more affordable transportation option for commuters.

Starting Wednesday, riders in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco can save 50% off the price of an UberX trip by booking with Uber’s new Route Share feature.

How Uber's Route Share Works

The commuter shuttles will drive between pre-set stops every 20 minutes, according to Sachin Kansal, Uber’s chief product officer. There will be dozens of routes in each launch city, such as between Williamsburg and Midtown in NYC. The routes are selected based on Uber’s extensive data on popular travel patterns and might have one or two additional stops to pick up other passengers. Initially, riders will only share the route with up to two other co-riders.

Riders can book a seat anywhere from seven days to 10 minutes before a scheduled pickup, and the app will provide turn-by-turn directions to get them from their house to the designated pickup corner.

Uber is leveraging the same technology used for Uber Share, its shared rides offering, where riders can get 15% to 30% off the cost of an UberX ride by pooling with others. Kansal noted that Uber completes millions of shared trips annually and has seen increased traction as riders seek more ways to save.

Kansal stated, "Because of the size of our network, both on the consumer side as well as the driver side, and our core matching and market-based technology, it allows us to do something like this and put multiple people in the same car while creating efficiency and predictability for their commute."

The Future of Route Share: Autonomous Vehicles

Uber envisions a future where Route Share could qualify for pre-tax commuter benefits. However, the company would need to find a way to match those trips with Uber XL vehicles, as only six-seater vehicles meet the eligibility requirements.

A potential progression of Route Share would involve autonomous vehicles, particularly in chaotic cities like New York City, where no self-driving car companies have yet to test.

Uber has partnerships with 18 AV companies and reported during its first-quarter earnings delivery last week that it has grown to an annualized rate of 1.5 million mobility and delivery AV trips on the Uber network.

One of Uber’s more recent AV partners is Volkswagen. The two plan to work together to add autonomous versions of VW’s ID. Buzz AD electric vehicles to the Uber app, specifically for shared rides, starting in Los Angeles in 2026.

Kansal said, "You can see a natural extension of us being able to bring Route Share to autonomous vehicles, as well. [Route Share] has a lot of advantages for the autonomous vehicle. It’s a very well-defined route, and so the pickups and drop offs are predictable."

Other Ways Frequent Uber Users Can Save

Each of Uber’s Get-Go events has a theme. This year, with economic uncertainty looming, Uber is focusing on cost savings for riders, aiming to create a predictable cash flow and stickiness that keeps riders engaged with Uber.

Kansal said, "Of late, what we have heard very loud and clear is people feel very uncertain, people feel overwhelmed, and people are feeling the prices in many different walks of life, and there’s this need and desire to get more affordable options. So everything we’re announcing is squarely focused on how we make life more affordable for them."

Ride Passes: Price Protection on Specific Routes

One of Uber’s new features is "ride passes," which riders can use to "protect their price for a one-hour window each day on their selected routes." There are two ways this will work:

• Riders can pay $2.99 to lock in a price on a specific route.
• They can pay upfront and buy a bundle of prepaid trips (five, 10, 15, or 20 rides) for an "even deeper discount."

The price lock offer will be available for riders in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., starting Wednesday, with the rest of the U.S. and Brazil to follow. In the fall, price lock and prepaid passes will be available for teen accounts, too.

Uber Eats: Dine Out with OpenTable Integration

On the Uber Eats side, Uber is deepening its partnership with OpenTable and launching a feature called Dine Out, which lets customers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Ireland, and Australia book tables via OpenTable on the Uber app. When they reserve (either on the Uber app or on OpenTable’s app), they’ll get a discount on an Uber ride to the restaurant. Additionally, OpenTable members will soon be able to use their points on Uber and Uber Eats, similar to Uber’s partnership with Delta Air Lines.

These deals could offer savings for riders, particularly during peak demand times when surge pricing is in effect. However, they’re likely more beneficial for people who frequently use Uber’s service. Prepaid packages often feel cheaper due to upfront discounts, but riders could also overestimate how much they’ll use them.

Pricing Strategy and Transparency

Uber’s pricing strategy is not always transparent, and some reports have suggested that riders with prepaid credits or gift cards get higher fare quotes compared to those paying per ride. (Anecdotally, whenever payment method is switched from a personal card to a business card, the price of the ride jumps a few dollars.)

An Uber spokesperson told TechCrunch that the price lock feature is based on historical prices of that trip, and the prepaid pass protects against price spikes and adds discounts that are also based on historical prices.