Start-ups to the rescue as Delhi clamps down on diesel cars

Tech in Asia reports how start-ups such as Ola, Uber and Meru are making the most of the diesel car ban in Delhi

Ola

Ola has launched Ola Share, a social ride-sharing platform for Delhi-NCR. It will enable people traveling on the same route to commute together by introducing social groups on its app. Through it, colleagues from a workplace or friends from a college can share rides among themselves.
 

Ola is offering a 50% discount on fares in the launch phase, that is, over the coming month. A user can join multiple groups or simply choose to share a ride with anyone.
 

Uber

And where there is Ola, can Uber be far behind? The company has just launched a carpooling service that will let Uber users share a ride with others passengers going the same way.
 

It will also allow private car owners to register on the Uber platform and give a ride to someone else for a fee while the company itself takes a commission on every ride.


 

Shuttl

Bus aggregator Shuttl, which handles over 13,000 rides a day on more than 60 routes in Delhi-NCR, has called the Delhi government’s initiative ‘path-breaking’.
 

“If we compare present data, Delhi only sees two days of fresh air each year on average, while Beijing has 42 such days,” Shuttl said in a statement which pointed out that Delhi has more cars than Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad combined.

It has launched a website to keep people updated on the new scheme. The good intentions notwithstanding, Tech in Asia found out this morning that it was nothing to write home about – carrying no data and just some news links to other websites.

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.