Uber to drive India growth with two and three-wheeler rides, and a possible booking platform

Uber’s Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi (pictured above) called India his ‘toughest market’ as he got down to playing street cricket and even driving a three-wheeler auto on his India visit last week.

The car hailing company posted its first annual profit, but that has no significance so far in the Indian ride-hailing sector with competitor Ola leading the pack by a huge margin.

Ola is headquartered in Bangalore, and offers rides ranging from bike-taxis, auto-rickshaws and cabs – in addition to e-commerce sales for used-goods, cloud kitchens and financial services.

However, Uber is catching up, and both Uber and Ola have struggled to earn consistent profit in a rapidly growing but price-sensitive market.

Khosrowshahi’s India visit shows how interested Uber is in India and ride-hailing is not the only entry point. [Above: Dara Khosrowshahi ahead of a cricket match with Uber drivers and employees at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Gurgaon, Haryana, India, on Friday, February 23]

Uber is exploring offerings such as intercity bus and metro rail ticket bookings in India as part of a partnership with a government backed e-commerce initiative, a source told Reuters on Thursday.

ONDC, launched in 2022 by the government, operates a non-profit network that enables the display of services from all participating platforms. Partner apps include Paytm, Dunzo and Delhivery. Platforms including redBus and Ola have also signed up with ONDC for other deliverables.

Khosrowshahi said Uber views open source tech stacks such as ONDC with a lot of interest and recognizes the opportunities they bring for everyone. He didn’t go into details.

The CEO also broached the idea of bus services during an onstage conversation in Bangalore with Nandan Nilekani, the billionaire co-founder and chairman of IT services company Infosys Ltd.

Khosrowshahi sits in a Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Ltd. Treo SFT electric rickshaw in Gurgaon, Haryana, India, on Friday, February 23.