Uber launches new fare splitting feature on mobile clients

Uber, the popular and growing on-demand transportation service, has just launched an incredibly handy new feature on their mobile client meant to make splitting a fare with a friend just that much easier. Appropriately dubbed “fare splitting,” Uber now allows users to invite other Uber users on their contact list to share the fare with them. The new client also allows you to manually input a phone number, which then sends an SMS message to that number inviting them to install the Uber mobile client to help pay for the fare.

Uber has often been criticized for being far more expensive than other, more traditional taxi services. This new feature is certainly a step towards making the increased cost just that much easier to swallow. Most recently, Uber has begun to become under increasing fire from new startups, such as Lyft, which offers competitive pricing and an ever growing user base. The new fare splitting feature is one way Uber is hoping to remain the #1 on-demand transportation service in the business against such fierce competition.

The new Uber update is now available for all iPhone and Android users in their respective application stores.