Uber launches UberCommute car sharing app in China

Uber has launched yet another product; this time it's called UberCommute and it's the company's first carpooling service in China. It will enable commuters to share the cost of their journey by picking up passengers along the way.

Car sharing isn't new to Uber, as it launched its UberPool service in August 2014. Users can hop into Uber cars and split the cost with strangers going in the same direction.

The new UberCommute service - described as 'carpooling at the press of a button' - is for drivers of their own cars. Drivers use the app to enter where they are going and are then shown a list of people who are travelling in the same direction willing to jump in along with how much they will earn from each. If you don't mind sharing your vehicle with strangers it's a great way to keep your commuting costs down. For riders using the service, it works just like UberPool or People's Uber+ as it's known in China.

The service will be launched in China, available initially in Chengdu. Uber says it has identified a "tremendous appetite amongst Chinese drivers and riders for creative ways to get to A to B, affordably and reliably."

While UberCommute turns everyone who uses it into an Uber driver it also serves to help reduce traffic and congestion by cutting the number of cars on the road, which in turn will help lower pollution levels. Uber believes that if someone can arrange transportation at the press of a button they are less likely to drive themselves.

To those who take public transportation it will offer another option – especially in the face of train strikes – or allow riders who don't live near a bus stop or train station the ability to make their own commutes a lot easier and more efficient.

Uber claims that in major cities such as New York, Paris and San Francisco there are many people who are making duplicate journeys - just look at all the cars with empty seats in rush hour and you'll realise this could make a huge difference to increasingly busy roads.

A successful pilot will see Uber roll out the service to other cities around the world but there is no confirmed date as to when we will see it in the UK.

Is UberCommute a good idea? Would you be willing to share your car with strangers? Let us know what you think by tweeting us @IBTimesUKTech