Uber and Lyft always seem to be keeping pace with one another, whether its on prices or features, which is why we weren’t too surprised to learn this week that Lyft is introducing a new carpool option called “Shared Saver.” Much like Uber’s Express Pool option, Shared Saver offers rides at cheaper prices, providing you’re willing to wait a few extra minutes for a match and walk to meet your driver rather than have them come straight to you.
There is one major benefit to Shared Saver (other than the lower prices), as Lyft says that these rides will never be affected by surge pricing. In theory, any ride from one specific destination to another should be almost exactly the same price with Shared Saver, no matter what time of day or what the weather’s like.
As with Uber’s Express Pool, you will not only have to walk a few blocks to meet your driver and potentially other co-riders, but you will also be dropped off a bit further from your destination than you would with a standard ride, in order to best optimize the route. Lyft provided some easy instructions to find the new option, too:
- Set your destination and then set your ride type to ‘Shared Saver.’
- Tap ‘Confirm pickup area’ (to see where you might be walking) to request your ride.
- When your Shared Saver is confirmed, we’ll notify you where to walk.
- Once you’re in the ride and we find your drop-off point, we’ll show you where to walk.
Here’s the catch: Shared Saver is only available in Denver, Colorado and San Jose, California at launch. Lyft plans to add new cities in the coming months, but unless you’re in Denver or San Jose, you won’t see the option on your app. Trust me — I updated my app the moment I saw Lyft’s blog post on the feature to no avail.
