Uber aims to ramp up driver onboarding in India with new 'Fleet' app

Ride hailing app Uber has revamped its 'Fleet' app to now include a feature that will allow fleet owners to connect with new drivers and onboard them to their network.

The Uber Fleet app has been piloted over the last few months in various Indian cities, including Delhi and is now being rolled out across the country, Uber Head of Driver Product Daniel Danker told PTI.

He added that the revamped app provides an enhanced experience with greater usability and new features that will allow fleet owners to better manage their vehicles and drivers.

Danker said the driver matching feature allows fleet owners to connect with drivers on the Uber platform, who don't own a vehicle. These driver-partners are onboarded after verification by Uber, and fleet owners can see some details of these candidates before deciding to connect with them.

"There is an opportunity for people, who didn't approach us as they didn't own a vehicle, to now come onboard as a partner. We expect this (number) to be significant," he said.

Danker said apart from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Latin America also have large numbers of fleet owners with varied number of cars in their network.

There is a potential to take the Fleet app to these regions as well, he added.

Uber, which is locked in an intense battle with Ola for leadership in markets like India and Australia, has about three lakh driver-partners in India. The American company saw its revenue grow manifold from India business to Rs 21.5 crore, while net profit was at Rs 19.6 lakh in the fiscal ended March 2018.

Uber has previously stated that it remains committed to investing in India - which is among its top markets.

Danker explained that during the pilot of the new Fleet app, Uber found that fleet owners were able to increase operational efficiency with reduced vehicle downtime and driver partners on the network completing more trips.

Using the Live Map feature, fleet owners can track the status and monitor vehicles in real-time. They would also get an insight into fares, trips and quality metrics for the entire fleet in one simple view.