Uber launches UberHIRE: Now Hire a Cab for upto 12 hours

By Admin 7 years ago

In what could prove to be a boon for people living alone in cities, or simply those with too many meetings to attend in a given day, Uber has announced a new service called UberHIRE that allows one to hire a cab for up to 12 hours. The service had been under pilot in Kochi and now is being gradually rolled out to eight more cities including New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vizag and Nagpur.

UberHIRE can be understood essentially as your private vehicle, which you can use for halting at multiple stops, including waiting period, and pay a lump sum amount. However, there is a catch. As of now, you can only pay for UberHIRE through cash. No form of digital or cashless payments is currently being accepted. Here’s all that you need to know about how UberHIRE works.

UberHIRE Charges

The base fare ranges between Rs 449 – 649 for 2 hours and up to 30 kms. Post this you will be charged at Rs 2/min and Rs 12/km. Pricing and cancellation charges might vary from city to city. In its blog, Uber has listed some sample rides in the city of Mumbai.

So for example, you want to go for a shopping trip then the service will cost you around Rs 600 for up to 30kms or 1.5hrs. In case you have business meetings lined up then you can avail the service at a cost of approximately Rs 1,020 for up to four hours or 45kms. For pub crawling, you can hire the service for six hours, costing around Rs 1,440, and if you plan to go about exploring the city and have an 8-hour-long travelling period, then you will be charged around Rs 2,160. It is to be noted that dynamic pricing does not apply to the service.

UberHIRE Coverage Areas

The coverage area for UberHIRE remains the same as the city limits for UberGO, UberX, and UberXL. This essentially means you can hire car types from these categories for your schedule.

UberHire-Hidden costs

If you hire the cab for good 12 hours, chances are there might be situations when the fuel would dip. So do you need to pay for that? Uber says no. You needn’t pay the driver anything extra for fuel. However, if there are toll channels within the limits of the city then you need to pay the cash to the driver directly.

How to book this service?

Booking an UberHIRE is as simple as booking any other cab on Uber. Fire up your app, you will be able to see a new category on the app if you’re in one of these cities. Slide your pointer to this option and request a cab. If you are using the new Uber app, push the UberHIRE card which appears at the bottom of the screen, set your pickup location and request your ride.

You will get information of your vehicle booked, driver’s name and location instantly. You are free to take an UberHIRE trip without entering the destination. Incase of multiple destinations, you may communicate the same to the driver-partner.

The company will provide you sedans like Maruti Swift Dzire, Toyota Etios or bigger vehicles like Maruti Ertiga and Toyota Innova. Upon completion of your trip, you will get an electronic receipt just like your do for your usual rides.

Typically, you can take this cab around the city, from one corner to another without crossing the state borders(unless it’s Delhi-NCR). However, Uber is trying to expand it so that you can go on a little outing or picnic across the state as well.

The company is still piloting this service in a few cities, so it might be able to take on Ola Rentals so easily, that has been here for quite some time now. Moreover, there is no option of Paytm or cards yet, which can cause a little inconvenience to the riders. However, for business meetings, shopping, and even casual outings it seems like a great deal!