The cab-hailing major Uber is re-launching its ‘Auto’ service in India, nearly 2 years after shutting down the offering in March 2016, starting with Bengaluru and Pune.
The US-based company, which is locked in an intense battle with domestic firm Ola, will allow customers to book auto rickshaws through ‘Auto’ option on its platform later in January in these two cities.
Ola, which also allows booking autorickshaw rides under ‘Auto’ service, had launched the offering more than three years ago in 2014 from Bengaluru and Chennai. An Uber spokesperson said the company had “paused” the service “to see how that side of India’s transport ecosystem evolves”.
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For Uber, India is one of its largest markets where it has seen strong growth. Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, which is also an investor in Ola, has recently committed investing over $ 1 billion in the US-based ride-sharing platform.
In case the auto service becomes successful in Pune, Bengaluru, Uber is expected to roll out the auto service in other cities such as Delhi, Mumbai also.
Uber’s domestic rival Ola has been running an auto service for over three years now. Ola Auto is currently functional across 73 cities with over 1.2 lakh autos. The auto riders will be able to pay via cash, Paytm and debit/credit cards.
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