UberX was the lower-cost Uber service launched in July 2012 using non-luxury vehicles. It expanded Uber beyond the original black-car model, which was more expensive and had relied on commercially licensed luxury vehicles.
At first, UberX still required drivers to use commercially licensed vehicles. In 2013, as ridesharing companies gained legal approval in more places, Uber began adding ordinary drivers with personal vehicles to the UberX platform, subject to background checks, insurance, registration, and vehicle standards.
The launch helped reposition Uber from a premium car service toward a broader transportation marketplace. That shift was important because it increased the potential supply of drivers and made rides accessible to more customers.
Uber Pool is a separate shared-ride product, UberXL refers to larger vehicles, and Uber Black remains associated with premium rides. Those names are related but do not answer the historical question about the 2012 lower-cost launch.