People can now share an Uber beyond London's city centre with UberPool

The UberPool service that allows people to share an Uber ride with someone going in a similar direction has been significantly expanded across London.

UberPool, which landed in London a year ago, has been expanded to cover all of Zone 3. That means it's now possible to take a reduced price ride with a stranger out to places like Wimbledon, Muswell Hill, Dulwich, Lewisham and London City Airport.

Prior to Friday it was only possible to use UberPool in Zones 1 and 2 on the Transport for London network, which is widely regarded as the city centre.

The San Francisco-headquartered company touted that its UberPool service has been selected 3 million times since arriving in London, claiming this equates to 30kg of nitrogen oxide emission savings.

Tom Elvidge, general manager of Uber in London, said in a statement: "We're really pleased so many Londoners have chosen to share their Uber journeys over the last year. It's not just great for their wallets, but good for tackling congestion and emissions in our city too.

"By doubling the size of the uberPOOL area we hope to get more people into fewer cars. In a city where more than one million people still drive to work each day we want to give more commuters the option to leave their own car behind."

When making the announcement, Uber referred to a recent YouGov poll of more than 1,000 Londoners that suggests attitudes towards car ownership have changed as a result of services like Uber.

It found that 28% of Londoners who used to own a car no longer do so because they can use alternatives like Uber instead, while 19% of Londoners say they are less likely to buy a car in the future because of alternatives like Uber.

Uber uses more than 40,000 drivers across London to deliver its services. However, the company, which is valued at over $60 billion lost a crucial court case in October concerning how it classifies its drivers. Uber argues that they are self-employed "entrepreneurs" but the court ruled that they are workers, meaning they're entitled to holiday pay, pensions or other workers' rights.