American technology company Uber, which specialises in ride-hailing, is planning to begin a new shuttle service in India. The brand plans to commence the service in the metropolitan cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune and Bengaluru. The new shuttle service will help reduce traffic on the road, allow office employees to reach on time and reduce pollution in cities.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most offices were running at lesser capacities. Now that the second wave of the pandemic has passed, offices have started to reopen. But employees prefer using personal modes of transport for social distancing and to remain safe from the deadly virus. Public transport offerings allow less safety in terms of social distancing, especially at peak office hours. But this has been causing long queues of traffic and also air pollution.
Reduced Pollution and Traffic Congestion
To curb this, Uber plans to introduce a corporate shuttle service that will allow a customised service for companies. The Corporate Shuttle from Uber will offer seating capacity for 10 to 50 employees in a single-vehicle. The service will lead to 10 to 50 fewer personal vehicles on the road. Thus the service will be able to reduce air pollution and road congestion considerably.
COVID-19 Safety
The Corporate Shuttle service will require Uber to put COVID-19 safety protocols in place. This will include mask and timely sanitisation of vehicles mandatory. Both drivers and riders will need to wear masks during the ride. The brand will also employ a pre-trip mask verification which will be done through selfies.
Cost Optimisation and Reduced Fatigue
The new shuttle service will help employees save on fuel costs which have crossed the INR 100 mark in most cities. The shuttle service will also help optimise and improve the employees’ travel experience. Also, the shuttle service will lead to reduced fatigue as less time is spent behind the wheel in traffic.
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