Uber to start motor-bike taxis, UberMOTO in Hyderabad from next month

Image Credit: Uber

  14 Dec 2016 , 13:05

International transportation network company Uber Tuesday announced the launch of motor-bike taxis here from next month. Hyderabad will be the third city in India, after Bengaluru and Gurgaon to get the two-wheeler taxi service. The fares for the bike-taxi will be Rs 20 for the first 3 kms and Rs 5 per km thereafter.

The launch of uberMoto was announced by Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick. “It’s a quick, easy and affordable way to get around the city. And it’s great to be working with a progressive, forward thinking government like Telangana on smart mobility solutions that can help reduce congestion in urban areas,” said Kalanick after meeting Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

He also attended a ceremony at T-Hub, where Uber signed an MoU with Hyderabad Metro for last-mile connectivity. Uber India President Amit Jain and Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd Managing Director N. V. S. Reddy signed the MoU in the presence of state Information Technology and Municipal Administration Minister K. T. Rama Rao. “Uber has added another feather in our partnership today by launching UberMOTO to help solve the transportation and congestion problems for people in Hyderabad and I am hopeful that this service will help people in reaching their destination quickly and conveniently,” said Rama Rao.

The company promises that uberMOTO offers an affordable and convenient motorcycle ride at the push of a button, through the Uber app. Riders receive driver and bike details just as they do for other Uber rides, as well as all standard safety features before, during and after the ride including GPS tracking, two-way feedback and the ability to share trip details with family and friends.

Uber officials said their two-wheeler taxi service was available in the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia and Vietnam. According to them it is especially well-suited for first mile/last mile connectivity, getting people from their homes or offices to metro stations and vice-versa. Both the driver and rider of the motor-bike taxi have to wear helmets.

IANS

Uber now has 40 million monthly riders across the globe

Image Credits: REUTERS

By tech2 News Staff /  20 Oct 2016 , 16:41

At the Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit in San Francisco, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick revealed some global stats and also spoke about the future of the taxi-booking service.

According to Fortune, Kalanick said that the company now has over 40 million riders worldwide. He also revealed that last month, the company paid somewhere between $1.5 – 2 billion to drivers, which is after taking the cut from the amount. Adding further, he said an Uber driver spends an average of $50 on service every month.

Uber was co-founded by Kalanick in 2009, and has launched different types of service ever since. One of the most recent ones, Uberpool, was launched only 2 years ago, but now represents about 20 percent of the total rides globally.

He also spoke about self-driving cars, which are believed to be the future of tech. We’ve seen Google, Apple and others testing the waters in this space. “We’re at the very beginning stages of becoming a robotics company,” he said. If you remember, Uber had acquired self-driving truck startup Otta, and also teamed with Volvo. Uber’s move reflected its eagerness to advance in self-driving technology. If its ambitions are realized, these vehicles could over time reduce its biggest cost, paying drivers. He said that moving forward, autonomy will be critical. However, he also said that the company never intends to own all the Uber cars in the future.

Earlier this year, we also saw reports around Uber Technologies merger with its China business rival Didi Chuxing. The reports had arrived just after Uber decided to invest $500 million in its mapping project. This is an attempt by the company to separate itself from Google Maps and in-turn make a more detailed mapping system for the ride-hailing service.