In a statement released by the company on Thursday, the ride hailing app Uber has completed 500 million trips in its four-year journey in India. The company further claimed that it recorded double-digit growth in India with almost 2.5 times Year-on-Year (YoY) growth in the one year period from June 2016 to July 2017.
Uber initially launched its services in India four years ago with just three employees. "Today, we're over a 1,000 member team who share the common vision of redefining the future of urban mobility. Achieving new milestones and continuing our exponential growth journey is a reflection of a strong business we're building in India," said Amit Jain, President, Uber India, in a statement.
Since its inception, the company has expanded its service to 29 cities across the country including metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, and Bengaluru.
Uber is giving out Rs. 5000 to 176 lucky driver partners and Rs. 500 worth Uber credits to lucky riders. The company says that more than 25 percent of the total rides are taken via UberPOOL in India which is said to have helped in saving 23,00,000 litres of fuel.
Currently, Uber has over 450,000 registered drivers. Uber had recently started an initiative called ‘UberSHAAN’, through which the company aims to create one million livelihood opportunities in India by 2018.
Outside of the US, India continues to be one of the biggest markets for Uber with over 5 million weekly active riders in the country. "Today, over 25 per cent of Uber rides are taken on UberPOOL. This has resulted in saving over 480,00,000 km, 23,00,000 litres of fuel and prevented the emission of over 53,00,000 kgs of CO2," Uber said in the statement.
The company launched Asia’s first engineering centre in Bengaluru in January 2016. Over the past one year, Uber has come forward with initiatives like ‘UberDOST’, ‘Emergency Button’, and ‘Cash and Dial’with over 100 engineers spread across Bengaluru and Hyderabad cities.
“Achieving new milestones and continuing our exponential growth journey is a reflection of a strong business we’re building in India. I’m humbled at the pace at which Uber has grown and the impact we continue to make to the lives of our riders, driver partners, and the cities we operate in,” Jain added.
