Carrum Mobility expands fleet partnership with Uber Black in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai
Carrum Mobility
, a fleet-management company under the
CarDekho Group
, expanded its collaboration with Uber by deploying more than 250
SUVs
across
Delhi NCR
and Mumbai for the '
Uber Black
' category.
The rollout formed part of
Carrum
's service arrangement with Uber, focused on managing vehicles and driver operations for the platform's premium segment.
Operational support and driver training
Carrum stated that it had put daily inspections in place for vehicles and drivers, along with performance monitoring through dedicated teams and technology-based systems. The company had also introduced training and grooming initiatives for driver partners in the segment. These included standard operating procedures, uniforms, and structured sessions, along with a reward and recognition mechanism for drivers following service protocols.
Karan Jain, Founder, Carrum, said, 'We are pleased to take our partnership with Uber to another stage, as we strengthen our value offering of
fleet management
services to Uber for its category 'Uber Black'. The expansion reinforces trust and confidence in our partners.'
Aditya Kapoor, Head of Supply and Electrification, Uber India and South Asia, added, 'At Uber, we are dedicated to providing premium riders an exceptional experience through our Uber Black category. Our partnership with Carrum Mobility strengthens our ability to deliver consistent, high quality service with premium comfort.'
Carrum and Uber stated that the current expansion was part of a broader goal to improve urban mobility for users opting for high-end ride services.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Time of India
The CIO paradox: Leading when the future won't sit still
Artificial Intelligence is no longer a buzzword—it's the beating heart of digital transformation . But as enterprises accelerate toward AI-led models, a peculiar contradiction confronts today's technology leaders: how do you offer certainty in a world built on constant change? At the ETCIO Annual Conclave 2025 , a high-impact opening panel brought together top CIOs and tech leaders to address the elephant in the boardroom: the evolving role of the CIO in the face of rapid technological, cultural, and business model disruption. Moderated by Shantheri Mallaya, Editor, ETCIO, the panel featured: Hitesh Sachdev, Head – Innovation & Startups, ICICI BankAshok Jade, Global CIO, Kirloskar Brothers LimitedManikandan Thangarathnam, Senior Director – Mobility and Platforms, UberRakesh Bhardwaj, Group CIO, LupinRajesh Gopal, Global CDO, Tata Consumer ProductsMukundha Madhavan, APAC Tech Lead, Datastax Together, they explored the paradoxes shaping the CIO's reality in 2025—navigating blind spots, decoding boardroom expectations, and asking whether AI will become a teammate or a competitor. 'From controllers to translators': Rewriting the CIO job description Rakesh Bhardwaj, Group CIO at Lupin, offered a striking take: 'We're no longer just providers—we're becoming translators. Translating volatility into opportunity, translating AI into business impact.' AI adoption , he emphasized, is not surprising—but what's noteworthy is how quickly business functions have embraced it. With GenAI's natural language interface, AI is no longer intimidating—it's usable. That ease of interaction, Bhardwaj noted, has catapulted IT from a support function to the center of business model redesign. 'The focus now must shift from adoption to embedding intelligence into day-to-day decision-making.' Don't just automate. Ask: Do you even need AI? Manikandan Thangarathnam from Uber brought pragmatism to the conversation. 'A lot of enterprises are suffering from FOMO—fear of missing out,' he said. 'But not every problem needs AI.' He explained how Uber sets error thresholds differently depending on the application. 'For identity verification, we use AI at 99% accuracy. But when showing recommended ride types, 85% is fine,' he noted. 'It's about aligning AI's role with the tolerance of the problem you're solving.' Legacy to leadership: When CIOs become growth architects Ashok Jade, Global CIO at Kirloskar Brothers, challenged the outdated notion that AI is only for boosting efficiency. 'We're not just improving processes. We're opening up entirely new lines of business,' he said. Kirloskar is piloting a service-led model where pumps are sold as-a-service, enabled by AI, IoT, and digital factories. Their goal: reduce channel dependence and let AI agents guide product discovery directly online—disrupting a century-old distribution model. 'The board doesn't ask what LLM we're using. They ask how much new business we're creating with it.' Trust is the new differentiator in consumer-centric businesses Rajesh Gopal, Global CDO at Tata Consumer Products, emphasized the balancing act between deep personalization and digital trust. He highlighted two pillars: Explainability – 'People don't trust what they don't understand—this applies to both customers and internal users.'Contextual relevance – 'Every AI output must feel timely, precise, and intuitive to the user.' His focus? Making AI meaningful by mapping the customer journey from awareness to loyalty, and ensuring touchpoints convert into trust, not fatigue. The quiet revolution: Rethinking AI readiness from the ground up Mukundha Madhavan from Datastax broke down what enterprises often get wrong about AI transformation: 'Most organizations focus on tools. But the real question is—can AI access and understand your data?' He listed two pillars of AI-ready data: Access: via operational data layers that span structured, unstructured, and multimodal dataUnderstanding: through advanced representation formats like vectors, graphs, hybrid search, and LLMs 'Privacy and relevance will be the biggest challenges. Enterprises must develop new strategies to govern AI's interaction with sensitive, high-volume data.' CIOs at a crossroads: Strategy, Talent, and Elevation The panel concluded with a powerful reflection on how AI is reshaping not just systems, but CIO identity itself. Rakesh Bhardwaj called for the CIO to own talent development across the enterprise, not just within IT. 'The real risk isn't displacement,' said Manikandan. 'It's irrelevant.' The takeaway: A new mandate for CIOs in 2025 As the discussion unfolded, one thing became clear: the CIO's role is no longer defined by technology—it's defined by translation, transformation, and trust-building. In 2025, success isn't about deploying more dashboards or faster APIs. It's about: Turning AI uncertainty into business clarityDesigning tech that can be trusted and explainedAligning boardroom expectations with the business value CIOs truly createRethinking talent not as a support layer, but as a strategic differentiator 'We can no longer be gatekeepers. We must be value creators,' said Shantheri Mallaya in closing. 'AI won't replace the CIO. But it will demand a new kind of CIO—one who thinks in algorithms, acts in outcomes, and leads without a map.'
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Bike taxi ban in Bengaluru: Thousands of riders struggle to find their footing
Bengaluru: The ban on bike taxis has left thousands of riders in the lurch, stripping them of a livelihood that many had come to rely on. From college students riding to pay their fees to tech professionals laid off during the slowdown, bike taxis had emerged as more than just a quick side hustle. For many in Bengaluru, it became a reliable fallback, a way to stay afloat in tough times. Riders said they travelled over 100km of traffic-clogged roads and earned up to Rs 3,000 a day, a sum that covered a significant chunk of their monthly expenses. For others, especially those with weekday jobs, it became the perfect weekend gig. TOI spoke to several riders who described how the job offered more than financial support — it gave them a purpose and a human connection. "Riding helped me beat loneliness," said a college dropout trying to save up for higher education, adding: "Every ride was a chance to meet someone new, to feel useful and earn while doing something I enjoyed." Indra Shekar, a 25-year-old from Mahadevapura who rode on Rapido and Uber platforms, said he would save money for his business after he couldn't land a software job post his engineering course. "I've always wanted to start a business, but a regular monthly salary makes saving tough. That's when I turned to bike taxis — no pressure, no targets and full flexibility. This ban will hit many like me who use the mode to chase bigger dreams. I'm even considering shifting to Hyderabad to continue riding — I'm not giving this up," Shekar added. Another bike-taxi driver, Jagadeesh, a 24-year-old non-IT professional, said the bike-taxi gig has been a financial lifeline amid rising costs. "I earned around Rs 3,000 a day and managed to save at least Rs 2,000. These days, a full-time job alone isn't enough — especially if you want to set aside some money or make a big purchase in a city as expensive as Bengaluru," he said. Sagar, who works from 6pm till midnight, said the sudden halt in bike-taxi services has upended his routine and livelihood. "It's very disappointing. It had been a lifesaver, offering me the freedom to work on my own terms," he said, adding: "Now, I've lost my only source of income and am looking for a job." A 27-year-old techie chose to ride a bike taxi to overcome loneliness: "I stay in Whitefield, and after office hours, I take rides on my way home. It's a way to have some company during the long and often boring traffic jams. It also helps me build new relationships." We need framework: Assn Namma Bike Taxi Association submitted a memorandum to CM Siddaramaiah and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, urging their intervention to support over 1 lakh gig workers affected by the ban. They demanded a policy framework to regularize bike-taxi services. "The drivers demand clear rules on licensing, insurance and safety rather than being criminalized overnight. "We are part of the same informal economy that Karnataka claims to support. Why are we being shut out without a conversation?" questioned Mohammed Salim, president of Namma Bike Taxi Association.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Over 100 bike taxis seized in Bengaluru for operating despite Karnataka HC order
Officials of the road transport offices across Bengaluru seized 103 bike taxis on Monday for operating despite the Karnataka High Court's directive to suspend operations in the state. The transport department officials have also booked the riders of the 103 bike taxis across RTO divisions in the central, west, south, north, east, Electronic City, and KR Puram, among others. According to RTO officials, the riders were fined Rs 5,000 for operating bike taxis without permission and additionally for insufficient documentation. 'We have seized their vehicles and fined them for operating without permission, in line with the high court's directive. Following the payment of the fine amount, we will release the vehicle after two days,' said an RTO official. The crackdown comes after the high court on April 2 ordered all bike taxi operators, including Rapido, Uber and Ola, to suspend their operations, pending the formation of rules under section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act by the state government. The deadline to wind down operation is Monday (June 16), set after the aggregators sought additional four weeks, modifying a single-bench order that had granted them six weeks to suspend operations. The ban came after a division bench of the high court refused to stay the April 2 single-bench order that directed all bike taxi operators to suspend operations within six weeks. Acting Chief Justice Kameswar Rao observed that an interim relief could have been given to aggregators, provided the state government considered drafting a bike taxi policy. 'However, in this case, the state government has clearly made a policy decision (of not being interested to frame a bike taxi policy),' he noted. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has emphasised that the state government is not inclined towards drafting a bike taxi policy and that white-board two wheelers cannot be used for commercial purposes. However, Rapido and Uber continued to offer courier services through bikes, which eventually also drew criticism. Bangalore Central MP P C Mohan wrote on X, 'Karnataka High Court has banned bike taxis. But aggregators continue to operate under the guise of 'Bike Parcel'. Citizens are now being reduced to mere parcels in this legal evasion. Karnataka Government has failed to implement the law. Are aggregators above the law?' He added, 'This isn't about supporting or opposing bike taxis. It's about upholding the law. No aggregator can flout Karnataka High Court orders under the guise of 'Bike Parcel' or 'Moto Courier'. This is not innovation, it is contempt of court and a challenge to judicial authority.' Meanwhile, all three major aggregator platforms–Rapido, Uber and Ola–removed the bike taxi feature from their apps on Monday, in line with the high court's order. Uber's spokesperson said in a press statement, 'Uber has taken the difficult decision to suspend bike taxi operations in Karnataka from June 16 following an order from the Hon'ble High Court. This will negatively impact the many thousands of riders who rely on bike taxis for their daily mobility needs, as well as the many thousands of drivers who rely on the service for their livelihood. We will continue engaging with the Government of Karnataka to help shape a progressive policy framework that enables safe, accessible, and affordable mobility options for everyone.' In a notification to its customers, Rapido said on the app, 'Starting June 16, 2025, our Bike Taxi services in Karnataka will be paused in compliance with recent High Court orders. While we deeply believe in the value bike taxis bring to daily commuters, we respect the law and will fully abide by the directive. We remain committed to the communities we serve and hopeful for a future where convenient, affordable mobility is accessible to all. We are navigating the way forward with the government to bring your favourite bike taxis back on the road soon.' Bike taxi associations also gave a representation to BJP MLA Ravi Subramanya seeking urgent relief from the suspension of bike taxis. The drivers demanded clear rules on licensing, insurance, and safety rather than being criminalised overnight. 'We're part of the same informal economy that Karnataka claims to support. Why are we being shut out without a conversation?' asked Mohammed Salim, president of the Namma Bike Taxi Association. Meanwhile, Shaik Salauddin, National General Secretary of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) and the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers' Union (TGPWU), and Inayath Ali, president of the Karnataka App-Based Workers' Union, have welcomed the high court's decision declining a stay on the single-judge order that held bike taxis cannot operate in the state unless relevant rules are framed. Shaik Salauddin said, 'We appreciate the Karnataka High Court's order. It underscores the necessity for a clear legal framework for bike taxis and highlights the ongoing violation of regulations by companies like Ola, Uber, and Rapido. These companies have been cheating workers by ignoring the rules and putting their livelihoods at risk.' Salauddin demanded strict action against the aggregator companies for non-compliance and called on the transport department to promptly issue clear guidelines and conduct special camps to convert private two-wheelers into commercial vehicles. 'This will help workers operate legally and safeguard their income and future,' he said. Inayath Ali said, 'We welcome this order as it protects the livelihoods of cab and auto drivers who lose their income due to unfair competition. If bike taxis are allowed in future, they should be permitted only with yellow number plate (commercial vehicle) registration and proper oversight by the authorities.'
