Ride-hailing giant Uber on Thursday announced partnering with Bajaj Auto to introduce its Bajaj Qute passenger quadricycle in its fleet of UberXS services.
The Bajaj Qute is essentially a driver-plus-three-passenger-quadricycle - a four-wheeled vehicle that's smaller and lighter than a passenger car. Quadricycles are safer than a three-wheeler but have never been considered as a conventional four-wheeler option because of the significantly lower levels of safety and security they offer.
UberXS is a brand-new category in the India region and would initially offer Bajaj Qute exclusively in Bengaluru.
This is the first time when a quadricycle will make it to Indian roads and ply itself as a registered cab service, that too with Uber. This is likely to offset the scrapping of bike taxis in the region, as quadricycles will find it easy to move around the narrow lanes of Bengaluru.
According to the company, Qute's low running cost makes it suitable for daily commuting and it is easy to drive because of dash mounted sequential shift gears.
All units available as UberXS rides would be powered by the eco-friendly CNG fuel option, which provides a mileage of 43km/kg. Uber hasn’t detailed how much a rider will have to pay per km, but running on CNG is likely to keep the costs to a minimum.
The Qute is powered by a 200 cc single cylinder engine that generates a 20 bhp power output. The four wheeler has a metal-polymer monocoque body due to which it weights around 400 kg.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways approved the use of Quadricycles (small four-wheelers) for personal and commercial use almost an year back, classifying it as a new vehicle category in India.
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