First, there was uberPOOL. When a company begins combining independent words to form a new word and then randomly interjects upper and lower case letters I immediately start shaking my head, WTH.

uberPOOL, WTH is that?

Strangers riding together, what could possibly go wrong? This…. Man unexpectedly shares carpool ride with ex-GF ahead of Valentine’s Day “MANILA (UPDATE) – A man running late for work did not expect to share a carpool ride with his ex-girlfriend and her current partner ahead of Valentine’s Day.” Does anyone out there have an EX? At least on a bus, he could’ve jumped off at the next stop.

I’m a huge fan of Uber, last week I took three of them in under 18 hours and it cost me less than $50.00 including tip. Plus Edward offered stimulating conversation at 3:30 in the morning. For perspective the previous week at LAX I took one 22 mile cab ride and it cost me $85.00 including tip and no conversation.

The thought of sharing a ride with a stranger just isn’t in my wheelhouse, especially before the sun rises.

If uberPOOL wasn’t enough we now have Uber Express Pool (They’ve gone back to separating the words).

Here’s how it works.

• Request and wait for your pickup spot – When you request, you’ll wait a few extra moments so that we can find riders along your route. After we map the best trip, we’ll show you where to meet your driver.
• Walk to your pickup spot – Walking to a corner helps avoid detours and make pickups faster. Walk to your pickup spot before the driver arrives so that no one is kept waiting.
• Walk to your destination – Your trip ends at an efficient dropoff spot picked by Uber, so you’ll walk a short distance to your destination.

Does this Uber Express Pool concept sounds familiar……. that’s because it’s called a BUS!

 Look you can add all the “Walking to a corner helps avoid detours and make pickups faster” style marketing terms that you want…..BUT…… it’s still a BUS! A recent article from The Verge also weighed in on Uber’s Express Pool,

“We think carpooling is very much the way of the future,” Ethan Stock, director of product for shared rides at Uber, tells The Verge. “Not only for our service, but we think the transformation of car ownership towards carpooling is going to be tremendously beneficial for cities, for the environment, for all the reasons that we’re very familiar with — congestion, pollution, etc.”

I disagree, I don’t believe that carpooling is the way of the future. I’ve spent the last 28 years traveling throughout the Southeast and when I look most vehicles are occupied by a single person. Have you ever participated in a carpool for your kids going to school, dance or soccer practice? Remember the stress? Think about applying that stress to your paycheck.

Next up, Ethan Stock’s quote “the transformation of car ownership towards carpooling” have you spent an evening watching television? What was the ratio of car commercial versus carpooling commercials?

Spending 15+ years based out of Atlanta I can tell you that the major interstates are dotted with Park/Ride parking lots. Unfortunately, there are more vacant parking spots than occupied. For me, there needs a major motivation to get off the interstate, park my car and then jump on another form of transportation in order to get where I need to go.

 Back to the Uber Express Pool.  If you decide to use it,  plan on waiting a bit longer and walking a bit further.

If you end up using Uber Express Pool let me know how it goes.

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