Intensifying competition, Ola and Uber on Thursday launched its ‘Bike Taxis’ service in Bengaluru. Ola’s bike taxi will offer customers ride for as low as Rs 2 per km.
Ola launched the feature on Wednesday night on its application. The minimum fare has been set at Rs 30 with Rs 2 charged per km and Re 1 per minute of trip time.
Uber also launched the pilot of its new service, uberMOTO, in Bengaluru that will enable customers to get motorbike rides in minutes with just a push of a button. The company has set minimum fare at Rs 15, followed by Rs 3 per km and Rs 1 per min of ride-time charges.
“Bike Taxis will help users in Bengaluru get to where they want to be within minutes, especially in traffic-prone areas. We aim to enable safe pillion rides for our users with trained two-wheeler drivers at competitive fares,” Ola Chief Operating Officer Pranay Jivrajka said.
The uberMOTO option on the app will work the same way as the other options – uberGO, uberX and uberBLACK, available on the platform, the statement said.
Uber India President Amit Jain said, “We are very excited to pilot uberMOTO in Bengaluru — pairing our on-demand technology platform with motorbikes, the predominant mode of transport in India”.
Bike taxis as a mode of transport has been gaining prominence. Players like Baxi and N.O.W are already offering their services in the Delhi-NCR region.