Uber to launch uberPOOL in Singapore from July 1

UBER on Wednesday announced the long-anticipated launch of uberPOOL - which enables people going to the same place at the same time to share the journey - in Singapore.

The service will officially begin on July 1, 2016.

Uber said: "It's all about getting more butts into fewer cars. This means cheaper rides for passengers and less congestion over time."

According to the ride-sharing company, the fare per uberPOOL trip can be up to 25 per cent lower than that for uberX, typically Uber's cheapest service. This price point for uberPOOL is whether the app pairs a rider up with another passenger or not.

Uber added that uberPOOL also benefits drivers who will spend less "dead time" driving unpaid while between paying trips.

The new service works this way: The first rider requests an uberPOOL ride through the app and is picked up by the driver. Along the way, another rider going in the same direction can request for an uberPOOL ride. The system will recognise this and match both riders.

If the driver accepts the second request, the mapped route will automatically update to accommodate the new pick-up and drop-off locations. The riders then split the fare on the shared portion of the route.

uberPOOL has been rolled out in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chengdu, Beijing and Jakarta. Uber's ride-sharing rival Grab has a similar service named GrabHitch, which had earlier been launched in Singapore.