Internet digest: Uber, Zoomcar & Goibibo

Uber expands to 4 more cities
Online cab aggregator Uber has expanded to Ajmer, Jodhpur, Mangalore and Udaipur, taking its total cities of operation in India to 26, and making India Uber’s second largest geographical market outside the US. Interestingly, the blog post mentions that “During our launch phase availability will be limited; expect longer ETAs than usual. We are working hard to add more cars across all 4 cities and deliver the ultimate Uber experience.”

Uber had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Rajasthan Government to provide 35,000 opportunities and launch its ridesharing service in the state. Uber claims to have over 250,000 drivers on its platform and 40% market share in the country.

Zoomcar launches in Chandigarh
Self drive car company Zoomcar has expanded its operations to Chandigarh and now operates in Bangalore, Pune, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai. In Chandigarh, the company offers Ford Figo, Honda City, Ford Ecosport, Tata Nano, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Mahindra Scorpio & XUV and the Mercedes GLA. Greg Moran, co-founder of Zoomcar said, “.. Chandigarh was a natural choice for the launch as the city has a large percentage of young professionals and university students. Moreover, Chandigarh is one of the most environmental friendly and green cities in India.” As a promotion, Zoomcar is offering a 20% discount for first time customers in the city, and a free doorstep delivery service for a limited time. The company said that it will expand to 15-20 other cities in 2016, and add new cars to its current fleet of 2,000 vehicles.

Goibibo claims 600,000 ratings across 20,000 hotels
Online hotel aggregator Goibibo claims that it has reached 600,000 ratings and reviews across 20,000 Indian hotels by its users. It expects to expand ratings and reviews to 37,000 hotels by March 2016, and a total volume of 1 million ratings. Goibibo states that it has a user generated content engine for ratings, photo reviews and Q&As. It claims that 70% of hotels on the platform have user generated photo reviews. Ashish Kashyap, founder & CEO of ibiboGroup said, “12% to 15% of bookers on Goibibo participate in generating ratings, photo reviews etc.”