Uber steps up bus service, runs pilot services in Delhi and Gurgaon

Uber is stepping up its bus service in India as the cab-hailing company expands into different modes of mobility, sources told Business Standard.

The Uber app will let customers book bus seats as the company works with private firms and state-run services to put their vehicles on its platform. The company is targeting the next 100 million customers who want a cheaper and comfortable public commute, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority will start a ‘Uber’ bus service that will run on a pilot basis for nine months. Uber is testing a new service that guarantees a seat to customers in an air-conditioned buses in Delhi. Outside India, this is also being tested in Cairo, Egypt.

Manikandan Thangarathnam, senior director, engineering at Uber, recently said in an interview that the company is increasing the portfolio of programmes that it is offering to the customers.

“Initially, we started with cars, we have (autorickshaws) and we are coming up with bike-taxis and now we are talking about Uber Bus,” said Thangarathnam. “Because we have a varied segment of customers.”

Uber runs a business-to-business bus service in India. Last year in September, the company launched Uber Corporate Shuttle, a new way for companies to help employees get to and from work, safely and affordably in the new normal.

Uber Corporate Shuttle is a customised commute service for companies, offering seating capacity for anywhere between 10-50 employees in a single-vehicle. Using Uber’s core technology to ensure a reliable, safe and cost-effective ride, the service helps companies deliver on their sustainability goals by helping decongest cities, reduce pollution and free up office parking spaces.  

Multimodal and shared transport, are a big part of the mandate being driven by the twin tech centres in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, with products including Uber Bus and micromobility being developed in the country from the ground up. Uber’s multimodal transport model envisages travel within cities at the tap of a button, without having to worry about booking the next leg of the journey at the next stop.

Uber recently said that it is doing a fresh round of recruitment for its India tech centres and is planning to hire 500 more tech employees by December. The app-based mobility and delivery company has a 1,000-member tech team across its centres in Hyderabad and Bengaluru.