Uber introduces Ride Shares, a rush hour version of Pool

Uber is introducing a few new options for riders that it claims will save you money. These choices include Route Share, which can only be described as if Uber Pool and buses had a love child (though Uber has already tried to reinvent shuttle buses a few times). It offers pickups in certain spots “along busy corridors” every 20 minutes — though only during weekday rush hours.

Basically, you can save “up to” 50 percent off UberX by treating Uber like a bus, walking to a pickup location and then getting dropped off at another designated spot near your destination. The Pool bit is that there might be up to two other riders with you.

Route Share will let you book a seat between seven days and 10 minutes before you need it. The option is now available from 6AM to 10AM and 4PM to 8PM on weekdays in New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, and Baltimore, with more cities coming.

Uber is also rolling out two different ride passes, a price lock and a prepaid option. The price lock pass lets you pay $3 to reserve a set cost for a specific ride. It seems to be pretty low risk, as if the ride ends up being cheaper when you use it, Uber won’t charge you the difference. You can use a price lock pass on up to 10 different routes each month. This pass is now available in cities like Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Miami and San Francisco — but should roll out to the rest of the US soon.

Then there’s the prepaid pass, which lets you pay for multiple trips at a time. So, say you take an Uber to work or your partners place regularly, you can buy a set of trips along that route. The passes will work for 30 days or up to $50 in savings, whichever you hit first. You do have to buy either five, 10, 15 or 20 rides at a time, so Uber gets a guarantee you’ll use their service and you get a discount in return. Both types of passes will also be available on teen accounts this fall.