Uber has a new plan to entice riders this summer, and perhaps to transform how DMV commuters get to work every day. As the Metro SafeTrack program is hitting the Red Line next week, sparking waves of dread in plenty of commuters, Uber is offering $1 UberPool rides, if you're willing to pay some money up front.
The Uber Pool Pass offers twenty $1 UberPool trips in August around the D.C. area for a $30 up front fee. The trips have to begin and end within the designated map, and you'll have to decide quickly; the offer is only available through noon on Sunday and there are only 2,500 of the passes available. Versions of the program have been tested in New York and Massachusetts earlier this summer, with a similar time constraint.
"As you can can imagine, this is a pretty pertinent time in D.C. to offer this," Uber spokesman Bill Gibbons told DC Inno in an interview. "It's totally temporary but it's a good way to lock in prices for rides you have planned."
Uber had promised to invest $10 million in D.C. during the SafeTrack program in a mix of ways. That includes offering financial incentives for drivers while still discounting UberPool this summer in D.C. Some of the money applies to incentives for the Pool Pass as well, since otherwise drivers would not likely feel very motivated to take a $1 fare.
The UberPool Pass isn't going to be an overwhelming presence right away, but it's easy to imagine it being very popular and even having the potential to disrupt how Washingtonians typically get to work. One frequent complaint about the Metro is the lack of monthly passes or similar options for commuters, and even if it's more expensive than $30, there would be plenty of takers for an Uber monthly pass. That's all far down the road, if it happens at all, but Uber does tend to make big decisions quickly.
"We've been getting some very enthusiastic responses," Gibbons said. "But we aren't trying to replace Metro. We're a supplement, not a substitute."
