Uber tests the water for carpooling business

An Uber Commute trip will cost $4.90 for a 5 kilometre trip, the company says. Photo / Getty Images

US ridesharing giant Uber is testing demand for its carpooling business in New Zealand.

The San Francisco-based company is calling on Aucklanders to express interest in joining its pilot of Uber Commute once the country returns to alert level 1.

It says it wants to see if enough people in the country's most populous city are interested in earning extra cash "for doing what they're already doing" and to launch the option through its app along routes where there is demand.

It is seeking interest from commuters and drivers through its app, and says that an Uber Commute trip will cost $4.90 per 5km, or 58c a kilometre plus a $2 booking fee. The entire mileage cost goes to the driver.

Uber New Zealand head of rider, Manuela Nicolae, said driving for Uber Commute was not the same as being an Uber driver-partner. The biggest difference is that drivers cannot earn a profit from the peer-to-peer service.

"One of the times people use their cars most is for their daily commute. But what if we could just help two people, heading from the same suburb, to the same business district, in the same car? For every two people who travel together, that's one less car on the road," Nicolae said in the company's most recent blog post.

Through its app, commuters and riders can book a carpool ride the night before, scheduling when they want to leave home, where they are travelling to and whether they want to ride or drive.

If there is someone to match with, Uber will pair the two. "If you're driving, it's a way to offset the cost of your commute while doing what you already do.

"If you're riding along, it means you don't need to worry about the cost or hassle of parking," she said.

But there's a catch - drivers cannot make a profit per se from carpooling. However, the Land Transport (Facilitated Cost-sharing Arrangement Maximum Reimbursement) Notice 2017 allows for drivers to recoup their costs on a per kilometre basis.

Uber says an Uber Commute trip will be approximately 65 per cent cheaper than an UberX.

Uber operates a similar business in Australia and other markets, UberPool, although with its driver-partners, that enables more than one rider going in similar directions to catch the same ride.