Uber, the taxi-hailing app firm that is taking on taxi drivers around the world, is launching its car-sharing service in London.

UberPool will be available to customers in the capital from Friday, enabling passengers to share taxi rides if they are heading in the same direction.

Uber says the service will cut congestion and pollution, given that strangers who would otherwise be travelling in separate cars will be sharing rides.

The service is available in 15 cities worldwide, and in San Francisco it accounts for more than half of the firm’s trips.

Uber, which was boosted in October by a UK high court victory over the legality of its app, is launching the service as it awaits the conclusion of a consultation exercise from London’s transport regulator, TfL, which could enforce a crackdown on the firm’s activities.

TfL, which has come under pressure from black-cab drivers, who feel Uber has been getting too easy a time from the regulators, is running the consultation until 23 December.

Jo Bertram, Uber’s regional general manager in the UK, said: “We believe UberPool can become a credible alternative to car ownership. If you can press a button and get an affordable ride across town within minutes at any time of day or night, why bother to own a car at all?”

On an UberPool ride, passengers pay a fixed fare, which is 25% less than UberX, Uber’s most affordable option, whether the app matches the passenger up to another rider or not.

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The Guardian