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Cab hailing app Uber has launched private car pooling service in Delhi, which means that private car owners will also be able to offer rides to passengers in need.
Uber will start with carpooling from 16th December to fight congestion and pollution, in line with Delhi Govt’s bold steps to curb pollution in the city.
Ride sharing in private cars is quite common in the US market for cab hailing companies, however, the trend is yet to pick up in India. Currently, Uber only has drivers with commercial licences on board in the country. The company has over 2.5 lakh registered driver partners on its platform in India, and is present in 22 cities, which is acclaimed to be the highest in any country outside the US.
The company claims that it will intact the security of the passenger as its product safety features such as the ability to see driver’s details, GPS tracking, share my journey, the HELP button in case of any emergency and two-way feedback, will be before, during and after the ride.
Gagan Bhatia, Uber North India General Manager said, “In the case of commercial vehicles, private car owners registering on the platform will have to submit identification documents.”
Uber is confident that the new feature will be able to tap over 27 lakh private cars in the city, and make travel 10-30 per cent cheaper for passengers opting to share rides. Presently, Uber offers its ride sharing facility in Bangalore apart from international markets.
Gagan said that there are numerous vehicles on road, only a better utilisation of vacant seats is needed. “Using our platform, private car owners can offer rides to others and thus reduce congestion and pollution in the capital over time,” he added.
As part of the government’s drive to cut congestion and pollution in the city, the Delhi government is in the midst of implementing the much debated odd-even car scheme from January 1, 2016, that will allow vehicles with license plates ending with odd and even numbers to ply on alternate days.
Uber plans to finally include the service on its platform after the state government’s odd-even formula is passed, and it gets a positive review from the government.
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