Ola, Uber launches bike taxi services in Bengaluru

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Published on: 4 March 2016 5:38 AM GMT
Ola, Uber launches bike taxi services in Bengaluru
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Bengaluru: On-demand taxi service competitors Ola, owned by ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd, and Uber Technologies Inc. launched their bike taxi services on Thursday in Bengaluru on a pilot basis.

UberMOTO will have a base fare of Rs.15 and Rs.3 per km and Rs.1 per minute, the company said in a statement. Ola, on the other hand, has announced an introductory fare of Rs.2 per km and Rs.1 per minute of trip time and the minimum fare will be Rs.30, the statement said.

“With bike taxis, we are enabling safe pillion rides for our users with trained two-wheeler drivers at competitive fares,” said Pranay Jivrajka, chief operating officer at Ola, in a statement on Thursday.

The two-wheeler taxis can be booked on the Ola app which will include display of driver details, SOS, live tracking and digital payment options using Ola Money, the statement said. All pillion riders will be provided with helmets as it is mandatory for both riders and passengers to wear helmets in Bengaluru.

For Uber, the move to introduce two-wheeler taxis comes barely two weeks after the US-based company announced its bike taxi services in Bangkok, Thailand.

Uber is looking to rope in motorcycles and scooter owners to become drivers on its platforms. The company will share the driver details with the customer along with photo and bike details.

Uber will ensure that all two-wheeler taxis have GPS tracking, two-way feedback and ability to share trip details with family and friends, the company said in a statement. The customer can pay by credit or debit card, mobile wallet or Airtel money for the service.

Motorbike taxis are popular in countries like Vietnam and China, and Indonesia, where they are also used to deliver hyper-local services.

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