Uber is testing a new feature that will show customers in London how much they could save by sharing their ride

Some Uber customers in London will see a new feature in the app on Thursday afternoon - it's going to show a fare estimate before you book a car, along with the price difference between its standard UberX and UberPOOL services.

Uber customers will be able to see the price difference between UberX (the standard Uber option) and UberPOOL (which is where you share your ride with strangers for a cheaper price.)

The new feature will be rolled out to more users if it proves successful in London.

Transport for London ruled in January that Uber would eventually have to include mandatory fare estimates for journeys in its app to give all passengers an idea of how much their trips will cost. The app currently includes optional fare estimates, but this function means they will always appear for UberX rides.

Tom Elvidge, the general manager of Uber in London, said:

We are always looking at new ways to improve our app and the experience for riders.

This new feature we are trialling will show people estimated fares before they book an Uber - and the big savings they can make by sharing their trip with another Londoner going in the same direction.

We've already seen hundreds of thousands of uberPOOL trips since launching the option in London just a few months ago. We now want to encourage even more people to save money and mileage by sharing their journey.