To cash on 'odd-even', Uber to launch car pooling

NEW DELHI, December 10: Cab hailing app Uber is now looking at enabling private car owners in the city to car pool through its platform in order to meet the heavy demand expected once the state government implements its odd-even formula. Uber will roll out its ride sharing initiative to commercial as well as private vehicles in Delhi in the next few days, according to sources close to the company. By offering private vehicles to register on its platform for ride sharing in Delhi, Uber will tap into over 27 lakh private car owners in the capital. The sources also said the company will put in place checks to ensure safety of both the driver and passengers. When contacted, Uber India spokesperson declined to comment. The Delhi government will implement its much debated odd-even car scheme from January 1, 2016, allowing vehicles with license plates ending with odd and even numbers to ply on alternate days. The scheme will be reviewed after first 15 days and the government will then study its impact and would then decide if the plan will be extended further or not. In October, Uber had inked an agreement with the Punjab government to run a pilot to test peer-to-peer ride-sharing. While ride sharing in private cars is an evolved concept in the US market for cab hailing companies, the trend is yet to pick up in India. Currently, Uber only has drivers with commercial licences on board in India. Uber, which was in the midst of controversy over alleged misbehaviour of one of its driver partners in the country, has over 2.5 lakh registered driver partners on its platform in India. It is present in 22 cities in India, the highest in any country outside the US. The company, which competes with Ola and other cab companies like Meru, is also expected to roll out UberPool to other Indian cities that will allow multiple passengers to share a taxi. UberPool has been rolled out in Bangalore as well as other international cities like San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Austin, and Paris.