Uber, the ridesharing app that connects riders with drivers to provide convenient, reliable and affordable rides at the push of a button, strengthened its commitment to decongest Indian cities and reduce emissions over time by expanding uberPOOL, an innovative offering, in 3 cities – Chandigarh, Jaipur and Ahmedabad this week, taking the national tally to 12 cities. The expansion strategy is an effort to promote shared mobility in India with uberPOOL allowing people heading in the same direction to take the same ride.
Post the successful adoption of the product in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Guwahati, Chennai and Kochi, uberPOOL went live in Chandigarh (3rd October) and Jaipur (5th October) followed by Ahmedabad, which will go live tomorrow. Designed to offer first and last mile connectivity, and improved reliability,uberPOOL will also help contribute towards reducing congestion in cities. With more people in fewer cars, uberPOOL aims to decongest roads and reduce emissions and pollution over time. As of March 2017, with 48,259,398 kms of travel saved, uberPOOL has helped in reducing Co2 emissions of 5,352, 000 Kgs.
Speaking on the launch, Mr Prabhjeet Singh, General Manager, North, Uber India, said, “At Uber, we are constantly working towards redefining the urban mobility landscape in Indian cities which involves initiatives towards reducing congestion and pollution. We believe that uberPOOL is the future of urban mobility that allows ridesharing using technology, and in the process helps decongest cities by getting more people into fewer cars, letting riders move around their city more affordably and enables first/last mile connectivity. We have received positive feedback from other cities and are confident that as Chandigarh, Jaipur and Ahmedabad embark on their uberPOOL journey, the same will help contribute to the future that we have envisioned – smarter cities.”
According to Uber’s Green Index 30% of rides in Mumbai are on UberPOOL, 28% in Delhi, 29% in Hyderabad, 25% in Bangalore, 18% in Chennai and Pune and 15% in Kolkata. Uber’s ridesharing product has been able to deliver a significant impact in reducing congestion and pollution in several cities. However, we are yet to reach the fullest potential of this innovation. Therefore, to highlight several such examples from across India and advocate the merits of ridesharing, Uber launched a nationwide initiative, Decongest India, which aims to draw the attention of policymakers on how utilising cars for ride-sharing can complement stressed and overburdened public transport to be part of the solution – rather than the problem.
