If you’ve ever been to Thailand, you’ll know that a motorcycle is one of the best ways to get around its congested capital city. Now Uber is embracing the fact with its first ever two-wheeled offering.
The new UberMOTO service will show up as an extra option when you try and hail a ride using the company’s app in Bangkok. Each motorcycle rider will be vetted in the same way as its car drivers, and passengers will be provided with helmets. It will be pretty affordable as a service, with a base rate of ฿10 ($0.39) and charges of ฿3.5 per kilometre ($0.14) and ฿0.85 per minute ($0.03).
The scheme is a pilot project, so it’s unclear if it will spread to other cities — but Uber does point out that it’s designed for emerging markets with bad traffic situations. For what it’s worth, Uber briefly offered an auto rickshaw service in India, but, as The Verge notes, it was shut down after eight months.
Image by Uber