Bengaluru: Zoomcar and Uber have announced a partnership that will allow users searching for self-drive vehicles on the Zoomcar app to also discover and book Uber Intercity rides, bringing self-drive and chauffeur-driven road-trip options together on a single platform.
The service has gone live in Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and Mumbai, with the companies planning to expand the integration to additional cities over time.
Under the partnership, travelers planning select one-way or round trips through Zoomcar will be able to compare whether they would rather drive themselves or book an Uber Intercity vehicle with a driver. In practical terms, the choice now ranges from holding the steering wheel to happily surrendering it.
The companies said the integration is aimed at travelers whose preferences can change depending on the journey. A customer may want the flexibility of a self-drive vehicle for one holiday but prefer a chauffeur-driven ride for another, particularly on longer intercity journeys.
Deepankar Tiwari, Chief Executive Officer, Zoomcar Holdings, Inc., said: “Zoomcar is where India’s most intentional travelers come to plan how they move. Some of them want the freedom of a self-drive car. Others, on other days or other trips, want the comfort of being driven. Both needs are valid, and both deserve a world-class experience. By partnering with Uber, we’re making sure that when a Zoomcar user faces that choice, they don’t have to leave our platform to find the answer. That’s what serving the traveler fully looks like.”
The partnership also expands the visibility of Uber Intercity among customers already considering road travel through Zoomcar.
Rishant Ghosh, Director of Consumer & Growth, Uber India & South Asia, said: “Uber Intercity has increasingly become the preferred choice for travel across cities, with demand growing across Tier-2 and metro markets alike. We’re also seeing more Indians choose road trips for weekend getaways, family visits and holidays. Through this partnership with Zoomcar, we’re making Uber Intercity accessible to even more travelers, giving them another convenient way to book reliable, comfortable outstation rides.”
Zoomcar, listed on the OTCQB under the ticker ZCAR, operates a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform in India, while NYSE-listed Uber operates ride-hailing services including its Intercity offering for outstation travel.
Both companies are positioning the collaboration within a broader shift towards mobility services based on access rather than vehicle ownership. Instead of committing to one form of transport, customers can increasingly select different options according to the distance, purpose and character of a trip.
For Zoomcar users, that could mean renting a car and taking charge of the drive on one journey, while choosing an Uber Intercity ride and leaving the driving duties to someone else on the next.
By putting those alternatives within the same booking environment, the Zoomcar-Uber partnership reflects how India’s road-travel market is becoming less about choosing between ownership and renting, and increasingly about having the right form of mobility available when it is needed.
