Intensifying the competition in travel aggregation business, Ola and Uber have launched bike taxi services on a pilot basis to give the last-mile connectivity. While Ola claimed that the service was launched at 7 pm on Wednesday, Uber stated it went live on Thursday at 10 am.
Interacting with Deccan Herald, Ola’s director of marketing communications, Anand Subramanian, said that bike taxis on the Ola app will help customers zip through traffic with ease and at lowest fares.
“At an introductory fare of Rs 2 per km, and Re 1 per minute of trip time, bike taxis will be available to book through Ola’s app in Bengaluru to begin with. The minimum fare will be Rs 30,” he said.
He said that while booking for two-wheeler taxis, the Ola app provides driver details displayed upfront, SOS, live tracking and seamless payment using Ola Money.
Uber’s motorbike ride service uberMOTO has set a minimum fare at Rs 15, followed by Rs 3 per km and Re 1 per minute of ride-time charges.
In a press note issued on Thursday, Uber India President Amit Jain said uberMOTO will enable transportation at the push of a button. “uberMOTO will offer another affordable mobility option that will help people save time and money, while helping cut congestion in our cities over time,” he said.
While Ola sources said they have deployed 500 bikes in the city for the service, Uber did not share such details.
Ola did not divulge details on the variants of bikes that will be used in the service. “We will assure that the bike drivers will provide helmet to the riders. As part of our effort to ensure hygiene, all the riders will get a disposable cap and mask,” said Subramanian.
Uber sources said that uberMOTO will use only 100 cc bikes, which are not more than six years old.
