UDrive was suspended shortly after its launch last year due to regulation issues. Back in March of 2016, UDrive launched as a pay-per-minute rental service, with 50 Toyota cars for a monthly membership of Dhs50.
However, Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum has now issued an approval allowing the rental of cars on an hourly rate, except of not exceeding six hours and taking the vehicle outside of the UAE.
Yesterday, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) officially launched a new system with Ekar and UDrive as its two new operators that will operate 100 vehicles each.
Hourly or Pay-Per-Minute Rates…
UDrive’s pay-per-minute rates start at Dhs0.40 to Dhs0.50 a minute. Whereas, Ekar’s hourly rates range from Dhs24 to Dhs30 an hour.
No Need For Keys, Just Use The App
How convenient for those in a rush? All you need to do is go to the nearest vehicle, after having registered on both UDrive and Ekar‘s websites, and the car door will open with use of the app.
For UDrive, there will even be voice instructions once you enter the car and off you go. Similarly, Ekar has a registration fee of only Dhs1 paid via credit card.
“You pay for what you use”
The cars are fully insured, serviced and already filled with petrol.
The cars will conveniently be split over 45 different areas in the city. The vehicles can also be found in five metro stations such as: Burjuman, Rashidiya, Business Bay, Ibn Battuta and Union.
Eco-Friendly
It doesn’t end there, RTA is also considering bringing hybrid vehicles as a part of this fleet. Convenience, affordability and hopefully sustainability- what more do we want?