Uber asks Pool users to push employers to subsidize commutes

Gaurang Gavai arrives at his destination after using the UberPool service in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. Uber is encouraging riders using the service to ask employees to subsidize their daily commutes. less Gaurang Gavai arrives at his destination after using the UberPool service in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. Uber is encouraging riders using the service to ask employees to subsidize their ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Uber asks Pool users to push employers to subsidize commutes 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Uber says about 10,000 San Franciscans regularly use its UberPool shared-ride service during commute hours. Now it hopes some of them will persuade their employers to subsidize those trips.

“Do you want your employer to offer UberPool as an employee benefit?” Uber wrote in an e-mail last week to those “power users,” urging them to contact their company benefit managers or put Uber in touch with them. So far, people from 350 companies have replied, saying they want to lobby for getting their UberPool rides subsidized, said Wayne Ting, Bay Area general manager.

Rival ride service Lyft also wants to partner with corporations. It announced Lyft for Work a year ago, saying many companies would hand out $100 or $200 Lyft travel credits to employees, generally for commuting.

Uber’s Ting said: “We think it’s a clear win for employees and also for companies. Working with UberPool would not only reduce the cost of parking, but is a great employee perk.”

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But it’s a perk that could draw fire from some transit advocates for diverting business from public transit, and removing pressure to improve Muni.

“Using Uber or Lyft, even with their carpool options, on a daily basis for commuting creates a two-tier system, where people who can afford it take those private services and those who can’t take public transit,” said Daniel Sisson, vice chairman of San Francisco Transit Riders, a grassroots group that works to improve the city’s transit system. “We need to invest more in public transit, not incentivize these private solutions.”

Both Uber and Lyft say they can complement public transit, pointing to a big chunk of rides that start or end near Caltrain or BART, for instance.

Critics also point out that regular carpooling, in which co-workers share rides to work, removes more cars from the road than the Uber and Lyft shared rides, since the services pack the streets with additional vehicles that increase congestion.

Uber’s Ting said its target commuters are folks who currently drive to work, so by two of them teaming up in an UberPool, there’s one less car on the road.

By trying to persuade employers to offer Lyft and Uber as a commute perk, the companies are seeking to expand their customer bases, especially for their shared-ride options.

Lyft recently joined forces with Starbucks to offer rides for baristas who work late-night or early-morning hours when public transit is limited. (Lyft for Work also makes Lyft trips easier to report on expense accounts, something Uber does with Uber for Business.)

Corporate subsidies for Uber and Lyft rides would be subject to taxes. While money for public transit, parking and vanpooling can be allocated pre-tax — bumping up employees’ potential savings — carpools (such as those driven by employees on their way to work together) and rides hailed through apps don’t qualify, according to IRS rules. In the Bay Area, any company with at least 20 employees must provide a commuter benefit, often administered by outside firms like WageWorks or Commuter Check, which allocate the pretax earnings to authorized vendors like Muni, BART or vanpools.

That requirement has been a boon for startup Chariot, which arranges commuter rides within San Francisco in Ford Transit Wagon 15-passenger vans and does qualify for the pretax funds. After 18 months in operation, it’s up to almost 10,000 rides a week; and has 60 leased vehicles and 75 drivers, all of whom are W-2 employees, said CEO and founder Ali Vahabzadeh. Employees of companies such as Salesforce, Gap and Google use commuter benefits to buy Chariot’s $93 monthly pass, he said. With tax savings, the rides come to less than $3, only slightly more than Muni’s $2.25 adult fare, he said.

Sisson, the transit advocate, said he’s torn about Chariot. “It’s a private company, so again it doesn‘t help improve the public transit system, but at least it puts many more people in one vehicle so it reduces congestion, which does improve transit,” he said.

Chariot’s most popular routes are from northern neighborhoods like the Marina, Pacific Heights and Cow Hollow to the Financial District and South of Market. That mirrors the UberPool itinerary with the highest percentage of matches — Marina to downtown during commute hours, where 90 percent of riders get matched with someone going their way.

UberPool and Lyft Line, while cheaper than the companies’ solo rides, are still quite a bit pricier than public transit. UberPool trips within northeast San Francisco are up to $7. In the city’s western and southern areas, they are a 40 percent discount off the cost of a solo Uber ride. Lyft Line is $6 within the northeast quadrant and $12 throughout the rest of the city. Ting said that companies would most likely subsidize a couple of dollars, so employees also shoulder some of the cost.

Laura Brookhiser, who commutes a couple of miles from Russian Hill to a consulting job downtown, usually takes Muni, but will hop in an UberPool if she’s running late or the buses are too crowded, she said. “Occasionally I think it’s worth the $7 cost if I’m in a tight spot and need convenience,” she said. Her commute takes 25 minutes by bus or 15 minutes by UberPool.

UberPool currently operates only within San Francisco, but plans to expand outside the city. Lyft said Line already makes “thousands” of trips across the Bay Bridge every week.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid