Uber initiates e-bikes trial in India, partner bicycle sharing platform Yulu

Key Highlights

Uber partners with Yulu to boost e-bikes services in India.

Yulu offers 4,500 bicycles and 500 e-bikes on its platform.

Ola has invested $100 Million in Vogo, a scooter rental startup.

Ride-hailing giant Uber has partnered with dockless bicycle sharing startup Yulu to boost e-bikes services in India. The San Francisco-headquartered firm, which is expected to go public this month, said it will offer its users in Bengaluru with Yulu’s e-bikes and bicycles as part of a pilot. The confirmation of this move came alive when users of Bengaluru region were able to spot Yulu’s e-bikes and bicycles options in the Uber app. The reason for piloting e-bikes is not revealed by Uber because it’s the first time it has entered in this domain in India.

Bengaluru based startup Yulu was launched by InMobi cofounder Amit Gupta. The startup offers 4,500 bicycles and 500 e-bikes on its platform. The two-year-old startup has raised about $7 million in funding from a number of investors including Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Blume Ventures, Freshworks, and 3One4 Capital.

Related : Uber dominates ride-hailing in the Middle East by acquiring rival Careem in $3.1 billion deal

Uber has committed to invest $1 billion in India and has left Southeast Asia market after selling the local business to Grab, resembles to have put its foot off the paddle in the APAC region. It said Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, who heads the firm’s EMEA business, will replace Jain to oversee the APAC business.

SoftBank backed Indian ride-hailing market major Ola has put high attention on boosting e-bikes in India. It has invested $100 Million in Vogo a scooter rental startup. Vivo currently operates in Bengaluru and Hyderabad and is targeting to use the capital to add an additional 100,000 scooters to its platform.

Related : Uber in negotiations to raise $1Billion valuing autonomous vehicle unit to $10Billion

Vogo gives tough competition to Bounce, which offers more than 6,000 bikes. The market of two-wheelers has grown in India despite the proliferation of taxi services in the country in recent years. With major cities in India grappling with ever-growing traffic congestions, the future of two-wheelers seems brighter than ever. According to Jayanth Kolla, an analyst with research firm Convergence Catalyst said, 2019 could be the year when e-bikes will achieve serious momentum in the nation.

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