Uber goes green with new electric cabs

A charging hub in Pune

Cab aggregator Uber said on Thursday that it is deploying over 1,000 electric vehicles across five cities, including Mumbai, for a greener commute. In partnership with Lithium Urban Technologies, the major cities besides Mumbai will include Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune with vehicle charging hubs with the capacity to charge multiple cars and buses simultaneously.

"There are also fast and slow chargers installed at multiple sites across these cities. While a fast charger can charge a sedan in 90 minutes, a slow charger can do that in eight to nine hours," an official said, adding that plans are afoot to scale up operations to 2,000 electric vehicles over the next 12 months.

Also Read: Uber partners with Helpage India, will provide 1,000 free rides a month to elderly

While Uber India and South Asia president Prabhjeet Singh said this was a part of the company's commitment to provide smarter mobility, building greener cities and creating healthier lives, Ashwin Mahesh, co-founder and CEO, Lithium Urban Technologies said this partnership had the potential to significantly add to the number of electric kilometres covered by cars in every city.

Uber group rides

Considering the pandemic and commuting woes, Uber said it now offers the option of employee group rides which will enable staff from the same organisation to book rides together to travel to work and a business charter where companies can reserve a dedicated fleet of vehicles for their employees and customers.

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