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Ride-hailing application Uber will soon roll out its shuttle service in different cities.
The pilot Uber Shuttle service, launched in Gurugram in April, allows passengers to reserve seats on it.
"Our vision continues to be to serve consumers in the mass market and our products and services need to reflect that. Based on our learnings from the pilot in Gurugram, we will work with policy makers to provide a premium air-conditioned fixed-seat service at a price point that is suitable for consumers. Buses are an efficient way of moving both consumers and corporates from point A to point B," Prabhjeet Singh, President, Uber India & South Asia, told BusinessLine.
"A direct-to-corporate service, where Uber will partner with companies and provide them custom solutions, to move employees from their workplaces and homes, is being worked out. This was a big ask during the pandemic, when companies were trying to provide employees alternate solutions to return to work. We do have a couple of partnerships with companies. Consumers can directly block their seats and they will have to walk up to the pick-up location to board the bus," said Singh.
Speaking about the challenges in operating a shuttle service, Singh said the technology used is different, since one has to understand the consumer commuting pattern, "The technology status is different with buses, as they are pre-scheduled and the bus has to come up at a specific time. The services have separate consumer challenges, and we are taking time as it also requires dialogue with policy makers," said Singh.
The company has also been operating a pilot on E-rickshaws in Kolkata and Delhi, and black and yellow cabs in Mumbai.
"We have products in the concept and development stage and are constantly innovating. We would rather launch and test products . Booking rides on WhatsApp was a pilot started in Lucknow in a medium-size city and later spread to Delhi. There are products that are in the incubation and testing phase and there are products that are beginning to be scaled down," said Singh.
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