Uber rolls out cab rental feature, UberHIRE, for the first time

Uber, in a first-of-its-kind innovation, now allows users in India to rent a cab for half a day without any surge pricing.

After successfully piloting the service, UberHIRE, in the southern city of Kochi, the company has now made it operational in eight more Indian cities — New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vizag and Nagpur.

The service is evidently Uber's answer to its rapidly-growing Indian rival Ola's rental service, Ola Rental, that launched last year.

The minimum fare on UberHIRE would be Rs 449-649 ($7- $10) depending on the city for two hours and up to 30 kilometers (18.6 miles). And beyond that, riders would be charged at Rs 2 per minute and Rs 12 (17 cents) per kilometer, said Uber in a statement.

"UberHIRE addresses the unique commuting needs of riders in India, especially that of tourists, business travelers, senior citizens, and working professionals by letting them book an Uber and use it for up to 12 hours," said, Apurva Dalal, Head of Engineering, Uber India.

Uber has heated up its expansion in India, its fastest-growing market, to take the competition to Ola.

Late last year, it took its bike-sharing service, UberMOTO, to more cities and prior to that it launched the 'Dial an Uber' feature that allowed users to book a cab offline. It is also bringing its food-delivery service, UberEATS, to India soon.

UberHIRE rolled out on Monday and is a cash-only service at the moment.