Uber relaunches auto service in India

Cab-hailing major Uber is relaunching its ‘auto’ service in India, almost two years after shutting down the offering in March 2016, starting with Bengaluru and Pune.

The US-based firm will allow customers to book autorickshaw rides through an ‘auto’ option on its platform later this month in these two cities.

Ola had launched a similar offering in Bengaluru and Chennai in 2014. Ola auto is currently operational across 73 cities with over 120,000 autos associated with it.

“Autorickshaws are ubiquitous to mobility options in many Indian cities. To expand transportation choices for our riders, we are excited to launch uberAUTO in Bengaluru and Pune,” the spokesperson said. Previously, Uber’s auto offering was available in New Delhi, Coimbatore, Indore and Bhubaneswar.

“We are relaunching uberAUTO starting with two cities. Gradual geographical expansion like this is common to how we operate in cities around the world and it is something that we are looking at very closely,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that uberAUTO would include all safety features available for Uber cab rides and riders would be able to pay via cash, Paytm and debit/credit cards.

Uber would only put licensed, existing auto-drivers on-board, who have been screened and accredited by the authorities and every driver partner on uberAUTO would be required to submit valid government documents before they are given access to the Uber app, the spokesperson said.