Uber suspends shared rides in U.S. and Canada

Uber has temporarily suspended shared rides in the U.S. and Canada.

The move, reported by Reuters, was implemented Tuesday in response to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Uber users in the U.S. and Canada won't have the pooled option for their rides. Pooling or ridesharing reduces the cost of rides by taking on several customers at a time, but increases the risk of coronavirus infection by stuffing more people into the confined space of a car.

Regular rides, as well as Uber's food delivery platform Uber Eats, are still available.

“Our goal is to help flatten the curve on community spread in the cities we serve,” Senior Vice President of Uber Rides and Platform Andrew Macdonald told Reuters in a statement.

Uber has so far only implemented the measure in the U.S. and Canada, and will evaluate implementing a similar measure in other countries on a case-by-case basis.

The company will also display a reminder in its app, warning users to "travel only when necessary."

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At writing time, Uber's competitor Lyft still offers shared rides on its platform.

UPDATE: March 18, 2020, 9:04 a.m. CET Uber competitor Via suspended shared rides on its platform as well. "In compliance with a new mandate announced by Mayor de Blasio this afternoon, we have suspended shared rides on Via’s platform until further notice. We will continue to provide Private rides for individual riders and families traveling together," the company said in a statement.

The coronavirus has so far killed more than 7,000 and infected more than 173,000 people. The outbreak has been worsening in the U.S. in recent weeks, with more than 4,400 confirmed cases and 86 deaths.