Uber Technologies and Ola on Thursday launched rival motorcycle-hailing services in Bengaluru, a city with congested roads that do not allow easy movement in cars.
While Uber’s service – called uberMOTO – has been launched at Rs 3 per kilometre and Re 1 per minute of trip time, Ola bikes will be available at Rs 2 per kilometre and Re 1 per minute of trip time.
After the ride, uberMOTO passengers will be given the option of paying either through cash or credit. An electronic receipt will also be provided.
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Two-wheelers are the most popular form of transport in many of the country’s traffic-clogged cities, but schemes to rent bikes by the kilometre are rare.
Uber, which is investing heavily to compete against local ride-hailing services across Asia, is piloting uberMOTO as a project developed specifically for cities in emerging markets. It plans to extend the service across the country in the months to come, a source said.
The Bengaluru-based Ola, which is backed by Japan’s Softbank Group, stated that its ‘bike taxis’ would help “customers zip through traffic”.