Uberpool: Why Uber Was Smart to Gain Users Before Trying Carpooling - Businessweek

Also see Lyft Hopes to Coax Commuters to Leave Their Cars (NYT), Uber and Lyft Both Debut Cost-Splitting With Strangers (Re/code), and Sidecar says 13,000 passengers share rides, fares with strangers (CNet)

"Uber was smart to wait this long to try cracking the carpooling service. Sharing a hired ride requires a critical mass of sharers before it can work, and the handful of startups that have tried to launch these services from scratch have all struggled to gain traction. Uber, meanwhile, has trained a huge user base to pull out its app every time they need a ride. The company says that using the ride-sharing service will be up to 40 percent cheaper than taking its low-cost UberX cars, which could make people turn to it even more. ”At these price points,” the company crows on its website, “Uber really is cost-competitive with owning a car, which is a game-changer for consumers.”"

Uberpool: Why Uber Was Smart to Gain Users Before Trying Carpooling - Businessweek