Maruti Suzuki partners with Uber to create safe drivers and promote micro-entrepreneurship

Maruti Suzuki is teaming up with Uber through a Memorandumof Understanding (MoU). Under the MoU, the Company will train over 30,000individuals/Uber partner-drivers in safe-driving over a period of 3 years.

The initiative is aimed at providing aspiring commercialdrivers with micro-entrepreneurship opportunities and equipping them with theskill to operate on the Uber platform. The pilot phase will be rolled out inHyderabad, Chennai, Delhi-NCR region and will be introduced in Mumbai,Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune thereafter.

The MoU was exchanged by Mr. Mahesh Rajoria, Assistant VicePresident (Driving Training), Maruti Suzuki India Limited and Mr. Amit Jain,President, Uber India at the 9th Global Skills Summit at FICCI, in presence ofShri. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union Minister of State for Skill Development andEntrepreneurship.

Commenting on the association, Mr. RS Kalsi, ExecutiveDirector (Marketing and Sales), Maruti Suzuki, said, "We are excited topartner with Uber India to train individuals in safe driving and providemicro-entrepreneurship opportunities to them. We expect to train 30,000 driversunder this programme. Through this partnership, we will be able to promote safeand responsible driving while facilitating meaningful livelihood foryouth."

Elaborating with Uber's first ever partnership with thecountry's leading automaker, Mr Amit Jain, President, Uber India said,"Uber is  committed to creating moreeconomic opportunities and extends full support to the government's Skill Indiaand entrepreneurship building initiatives. With UberSHAAN, our plan is torapidly scale India's entrepreneurial base and generate 1 million livelihoodopportunities on the Uber platform by 2018. Our partnership with the NationalSkill Development Corporation and Maruti Suzuki will be instrumental inrealising our goal by 2018".

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As per the MoU, Uber will provide qualified leads ofpotential driver-partners to Maruti Suzuki for facilitating them withcommercial driver training. Under the specialized training module developed byMaruti Suzuki, the drivers will undergo pre-assessment tests, theoreticaltraining, practical training and post-training assessments for a period of 30days.

While the pre-assessment will be undertaken by Uber, theentire training process followed by post-training assessment with gradesattributed to the drivers will be Maruti Suzuki's responsibility.

The theoretical segment will familiarize the learner withbasic requirements such as vehicle controls & mechanisms, road signage,rules and markings, driving in difficult conditions, maintenance & fuelefficiency tips, law and driving, attitudinal change towards road safety etc.

The practical training covers intensive lessons in drivingpre-checks, risk-perception, driving-technique, safety-driving, rules of theroad and motoring skills.

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