BANGALORE, India — In Uber’s vision of the future, self-driving cars will whisk us everywhere, eliminating the need for its millions of human drivers. But as the ride-hailing giant prepares to sell as much as $10 billion in stock to the public this week to help build those vehicles, a low-tech approach to the self-driving future is already emerging in India: motorbikes that customers rent and drive themselves. Several start-ups — backed by big Silicon Valley venture firms and Uber’s Indian competitor, Ola — are betting that shared “two-wheelers” are better suited to wallets and transportation needs than the cars that are the heart of the ride-hailing industry.

Source: New York Times May 05, 2019 17:47 UTC