Uber is now using boats to beat India’s terrible traffic

In an ever-evolving world where are no limits to innovation, ideas, and technology advancement, transportation companies like Uber are thinking outside the box to make everyone comfortable and reach their destination on time and in comfort.

Lagos being the heartbeat of Nigeria and West Africa has been battling with traffic, with a population of about 21million people, the city is groaning under the pressure of traffic jams and over-population. Mumbai is India’s capital city and has same challenges as Lagos in terms of traffic and transportation and UBER seems to have a way to decipher this, the “Uber Boats”.

Uber is offering a new way to beat traffic jams in one of the world’s most congested cities — speedboats.

The ride-hailing company launched its Uber Boat service in India’s financial capital, Mumbai, on Sunday. Uber customers can now book boats between three destinations on the city’s waterfront.

Rides start at 5,700 rupees ($80) for a six or eight-seater boat and go up to 9,500 rupees ($132) for larger vessels that can accommodate 10 riders. The company will only accept bookings for an entire boat, not individual seats.

“Uber’s vision is to create a multi-modal platform to better serve riders and the cities we operate in,” Prabhjeet Singh, the company’s head of cities for India, said in a statement.

“With Uber Boat, we will tap the vast potential of the city’s waterways transport system,” he added.
Mumbai is the first city in India — Uber’s biggest market in Asia — to get the boat service. Uber Boat already operates in Croatia and Turkey, and the company has previously offered the service temporarily in cities like Baltimore, Boston, Cairo, Kiev and for the Cannes film festival in France.

The program in Mumbai launched this week on a pilot basis but will be expanded in the coming weeks, a company spokesperson told CNN.

Source:
CNN