Uber launches electric cab services in Bengaluru

Uber launches Uber Green in Bengaluru

Ride-hailing firm Uber India on November 30 announced the launch of 'Uber Green', the firm's flagship electric cab services, across Bengaluru.

The first Uber Green vehicles were flagged off by Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge from the Bengaluru Palace on the sidelines of the Bengaluru Tech Summit.

"Very excited to be launching our flagship sustainability product, Uber Green in Bengaluru, which is the city where we started our operations in, a city I call home. Uber Green is our attempt to offer a choice to consumers who want to ride in an emission-free vehicle, this is an electric fleet," Said Prabhjeet Singh, President, India and South Asia, Uber during the launch at the Bengaluru Tech Summit.

Uber Green was first launched in Mumbai in June, 2023 and the firm plans to take the offering to multiple cities.

"Uber Green was available on the app since May but now we have rolled out a dedicated tab to just book the Uber Green...Now the customer will have to specially book an Uber Green to get the electric car," Singh added.

With the new offering, Singh explained that the EV rides will be 8-10 percent more expensive than the regular Uber and it will be initially hard to get an Uber Green on the back of high demand.

"Uber Green is now available in several parts of the city, including most of central Bengaluru, and will be ramping up service to more geolocations in India’s startup capital," Uber said in a media statement.

The new offering is part of Uber's sustainability goal of becoming a zero-emissions mobility platform by 2030 in Europe and North America, and globally by 2040.

The Uber Green rides are popular in countries like the US and UK.  In fact, Uber also has a Green Future program, which provides access to resources valued at $800 million to help drivers transition to battery EVs by 2025 in Canada, Europe, and the US.

Uber's new EV rides directly compete with The Gurgaon-based EV startup, BluSmart which commenced business in December 2019 and has inducted 4,500 electric cars (4,000 in Delhi-NCR and 500 in Bengaluru) in its fleet so far.

Uber's ride-hailing rival Ola too announced in January of 2023, its entry in the premium EV category with a fleet of 10,000 electric cars.