Uber to start cab-pooling service in NYC

The car-hailing service Uber is planning a cab-pooling service in New York City.

UberPool will allow riders on similar routes to share travel and split the fare with strangers.

Uber's East Coast general manager, Rachel Holt, tells the New York Post (http://bit.ly/1rSGt5R ) that the service would offer riders "lots of cost savings."

It's slated to begin on Thursday. It will match two users per ride but allow each to have one person accompany them — for a total of four passengers.

Uber says it could reduce rates for users by about 50 percent.

Uber already offers the service in Paris and San Francisco.

This summer the company agreed in a settlement with the state attorney general to stop surge pricing — hiking fares during emergencies and natural disasters.