Get more drivers! UberGo flops on Day 1 with no cars

Uber’s new low-cost service UberGo istouted as being competition to autorickshaws, but for users in cities where it launched the experience of using the service was much like using the three wheelers. You could look for them but there were none available or barely any available.

The service has been available on the Uber app from yesterday but an attempt to use it yesterday in Mumbai yielded the following result:

The result was no different today:

And it’s not just Mumbai, The Economic Times reports that in Delhi as wellcustomers couldn’t find cabs under the newly launched service.

Thetaxi app told the newspaper that they were working on getting more drivers on the streets and has received tremendous response for the service which meant that they weren’t able to meet all the demand.

On Twitter, while there was a lot of buzz over the new launch, there were the complaints that cabs weren’t available under the service:

@Uber_HYD Did u guys start the operation of UberGo?....I don't see any cabs available near Miyapur

— Saurav (@prionko) November 21, 2014

#uberGO highly overrated !!

— Mayank (@imrmayank) November 20, 2014

@Uber_AHM no ubergo cab in abd? can't find any as of now in ab'd!

— Hardik Gohil (@hardikgohil01) November 20, 2014

UberGo, will have hatchbacks ferrying passengers at a minimum fare that is as low as Rs 30 in cities like Jaipur, while it is Rs 80 in metros like Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi.

Uber has said that it will be providing hatchbacks like Maruti WagonR and Tata Indica Vista under UberGo and will be targeting travellers who are travelling relatively shorter distances such as quick bank runs, short trips between meetings, jaunts to the mall and the movies.

On its blog , Uber said that it is providing the drivers of the cars with Huawei devices for them to be able to connect with customers.The company is pitching UberGo as the service for daily taxi users, while UberX will be the service meant for families and larger groups.

Given the absence of cars on the road it’s not very clear when the service will truly prove to be of utility forusers but given the hype it has managed to generate, Uber will be hopeful that even if it gets its act quickly enough, it’s initial teething trouble will be forgotten.

Meanwhile, rivals TaxiForSure and Ola will soon introduce Tata Nanos as part of their fleet and are reportedly in talks with Tata Motors for bulk discounts on behalf of the drivers in the range of Rs 50,000-80,000 on each car, according to this Times of India report . TaxiForSure has already dropped its regular fares to Rs 49 for 4 km in all cities it serves while Ola, has a minimum fare of Rs 100 for the first 6 km in Bangalore, first 5km in Chennai and first 4 km in Delhi. Beyond that, it charges Rs 10 a km.