Uber eyes Bengaluru for its shuttle bus services
BENGALURU: With its shuttle bus service performing well in Kolkata and Delhi, Uber is actively engaging with the Karnataka government to secure required regulatory approval for introducing the service in Bengaluru.
The ride-hailing company plans to introduce the shuttle service but is still awaiting the nod from the government. It plans to operate 200 air-conditioned buses along the city’s tech corridor on the Outer Ring Road, aiming to reduce congestion by offering commuters an alternative to personal vehicles.
The proposed service would run at 2-3 minutes intervals, allowing passengers to pre-book seats, get picked up from designated locations and be dropped at their destinations. Speaking to TNIE, Abhishek Padhye, Head of Regional Business Operations, Uber India and South Asia said, “The shuttle bus service is doing well in Kolkata and Delhi. We are confident we will receive approval to operate in Bengaluru soon and thereby help address the congestion in the city.”
Highlighting Bengaluru’s unique’s challenges, he emphasised the severe traffic issues on ORR, where many tech companies are located and the potential impact that shuttle services could have on easing traffic. “Bengaluru’s congestion issue is a more serious problem than that of Delhi and Kolkata. Among the routes that have a maximum on-boarding and off-boarding together, tech parks are a natural fit for this service. Bengaluru and Hyderabad are cities which have massive tech parks when compared to others.”
To gather public support for Uber Shuttle, the company displayed the bus at the Bengaluru Tech Summit that was held here last month. The company explained the model to IT BT Minister Priyank Kharge and others at the summit to garner support for their service. The company is now awaiting the government’s nod to begin operation.