Uber is looking to expand its mobility offering in the country with a tie-up with ‘Bounce’, a startup offering bike rentals. For the record, Uber has already been having pilot scale trials with a two-wheeler sharing venture Yulu, which offers sharing of electric scooters. There is no official word on whether that association will continue if the Bounce agreement is reached.
On the proposed tie-up between Uber and Bounce, a report in Livemint indicates that there may be no financial involvement within this deal. Which means that along with the different options in the 4-wheeler category, like Uber Go and Premier, you will have a two-wheeler option as well. The two-wheeler can be picked up by the rider and dropped within the city limits. The operation may start only in Bengaluru to start with since Bounce has its operations only in that city. Bounce offers around 100,000 rides in the city now. The startup is reportedly on the lookout for additional funding for its venture to the extent of $100 million. The report says the existing investors in the startup may be willing to pump in the funds needed.
Uber had earlier launched, Uber Transit, which is more of a mobility assistance app that guides you across modes like the Metro, other local trains and buses etc.
Uber has to keep these new ideas going since rival Ola has already sewn up an association with Vogo a scooter rental firm. Ola has even made an investment of $100 million in Vogo. That was more towards purchasing two-wheelers by Vogo. Experts see such associations happening in the mobility space going ahead.