UberPool: ‘Why at peak time in London does no one want to share a cab – or at least with me?’

Taxi app Uber is allowing customers to save cash and cut traffic by sharing rides with strangers - a system already working in New York and Paris. We sent our writer on a test

It's Friday night and not only am I ready for the weekend, I'm ready for the future. Unfortunately, I soon realise, the future is not quite ready for me.

It's the first day of UberPool in London, the urban taxi service's new shared-cab facility, in which passengers save 25% of the normal fare by selecting the "pool" option on their Uber phone app. It means a journey can be shared by up to three passengers going in the same direction, thus cutting not just the price but also, in theory, congestion.