Today LA became the third U.S. city to introduce UberPool, Uber's new carpooling service that allows multiple customers traveling in the same direction to share a ride. So far, mixed reviews have come from the first two cities to offer the service: New York and San Francisco.
With that said, here are 3 quick tips to make your LA UberPool experience just as enjoyable as it is inexpensive.
1. Pack lightly. If you're sharing a ride to the airport, just remember you're not on a shuttle bus leaving Enterprise Rent-A-Car. There's a good chance a Toyota Prius will be pulling up at your doorstep, so keep this in mind or you and your suitcase may be getting REALLY close to your new friend.
2. Be patient and have a good attitude. This goes for life as well...but especially for UberPool. One complaint from a New York customer is that UberPool drops-off based on the location of the destination, not the order of pick-up. Also, it's possible that your fellow passenger may not be somebody you'd grab a beer with, or a coffee...or an Uber ride with if you knew who you'd be riding with. But that's the fun of it, too. Remember, you'll eventually get there, and it can't be much worse than when you were six and your parents wouldn't pull over to let you go pee on your way to Disneyland.
3. Use UberPool wisely. As it starts to catch on, you may want to use discretion with UberPool. Either start to love sharing rides and getting cheap rates, or use it when you truly need it: when rates are soaring, when you're in a lightly buzzed/fun/social mood and when you're not in a major rush to get to a job interview (by the way, does anyone really take an Uber to a job interview?).
Good luck with your UberPooling. And just remember if you're UberPool isn't going as planned...things could be worse. You could be sitting in the back of an old-fashioned cab, or even the original UberPool: a Metro bus.