Ride-hailing platform Uber has expanded its same-day courier service with Courier XL, designed to send larger packages via three or four-wheeler vehicles. Before this, the company offered same-day courier service through two-wheelers.
According to the information available on the company’s mobile application, packages weighing 500 kg or less would be eligible to be sent through a three-wheeler like Bajaj Maxima.
A package weighing 500-750 kg would be sent through a four-wheeler like Tata Ace.
The company’s two-wheeler courier service allowed only packages weighing less than 5 kg to be sent across the town. All these features, however, are available for deliveries only within a city.
The company has piloted the feature in Bengaluru earlier, but now seems to have rolled out in major cities, including the capital.
The latest launch would put the company in direct competition with several logistics companies like Porter, which also use three- and four-wheelers for deliveries.
“This space is witnessing high activity as e-commerce expansion provides good opportunity,” an industry expert said. “Uber has the resources to try inter-city logistics soon.”
Earlier, Uber had launched the Shop pick-up feature under its courier service, where a user could buy goods from a shop and get them delivered to an address. It was facilitated via two-wheelers.
The company has also rolled out software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based zero commission model for auto drivers across the country, amid rising competition from local rivals Rapido and Namma Yatri.
According to industry estimates, currently Uber leads the cab-hailing segment with a market share of around 50%. However, in two and three-wheeler segments, it lags behind Rapido.
In India, Uber has clocked 3 billion rides in the last 10 years, an average of 800,000 trips per day.
However, here the competition in the commission-free ride-hailing industry is increasing. In March, the Centre had announced a new ride-hailing initiative called Sahkar Taxi. This government-run service would be “just like Uber and Ola” in its reach and market size but would operate on a commission-free model.
Namma Yatri, which pioneered the commission-free model, has also been expanding rapidly beyond Bengaluru now.