Uber, Ola and others sign shared mobility pledge

New Delhi: As many as 15 transport and technology companies, including Ola, Uber and Lyft have signed the 'Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities' to collaborate on lowering emissions and encouraging data sharing to create more livable, sustainable cities.

Other companies that are also part of the collaboration include BlaBlaCar, Didi, LimeBike, Transit, Via and Zipcar. "The Shared Mobility Principles provide a clear vision for the future of cities and create alignment between the city governments, private companies and NGOs working to make them more livable," a statement said.

The 15 companies together account for 77 million passenger trips per day. "Our goal is to align cities, the private sector and civil society around a shared vision to ensure we harness the good and avoid the bad of new business models and technologies," Zipcar co-founder Robin Chase, who has charted out the principles, said.

These companies represent some of the biggest players and share common goals like a commitment to zero-emission vehicles and efficient use of urban roads, he added.The principles state that the companies "prioritise people over vehicles", "support the shared and efficient use of vehicles, lanes, curbs, and land" and supports the view that "autonomous vehicles in dense urban areas should be operated only in shared fleets".

An Ola spokesperson said the company is committed to building solutions that are smart and sustainable for cities. Andrew Salzberg, Head of Transportation Policy and Research at Uber, said technology is not a solution for urban problems on its own. "But done right and in partnership with others we believe shared mobility has the potential to contribute to a better world for all," he added.