UberPool ridership doubles in New York City

UberPool, the ride-sharing feature that letsstrangers share Uber rides and costs,has recently doubled the amount of New Yorkers that use the service.

The service, which according to the New York Post is the city’s “best new blind date spot,” saw 50,000 riders in the last week of October, more than double the amount around Labor Day, according to the company.

“When we first launched uberPOOL in New York, we knew we’d be facing a big challenge,” the company said in a press release Monday.

Uber attributed the spike in usage to increased effort in promoting the service.

“Getting New Yorkers to be comfortable with sharing their rides wouldn’t be easy — especially at first. We also knew that UberPoolcould be a powerful tool in helping to reduce congestion in our city, so we we invested heavily in discounts and promotions to encourage people to try pooland see how easy sharing an Uber could be.”

The company, which sparred with city officials over a proposed cap until a truce was reached over the summer, claimed the high amount of ride-sharing cut 60,000 miles of extra travel on the streets.

The rides are on average about 25 percent cheaper than a city cab or private Uber, according to the company.