Uber launches 'Movement' in India to support data-driven urban planning

Cab aggregator Uber on Thursday launched 'Movement' in India, a free tool that can help support urban planning and data-driven policy making.

Uber introduced 'Movement' last year in 10 cities globally, including locations like London and Cincinnati. As part of the second phase, 12 more cities, including 4 Indian cities, are being added, Uber said in a statement.

These cities include Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore Hyderabad, Amsterdam, Brisbane, Cairo, Melbourne, Nairobi, Perth, Pittsburgh, and Toronto, it added.

The tool uses "anonymised data from millions of trips" taken through its platform and can help planners and policymakers to analyse transportation patterns, and make smart investments on future infrastructure projects, the statement said.

The tool can also help commuters discover patterns and analyse the impact of events, rush hours, and road closures in cities and help optimise travel time, it added.

"This is a promising first step and we intend to engage with policy makers, academia and civic authorities across the country to apprise them of the potential of 'Movement' in the coming days," Uber India and South Asia Regional General Manager Prabhjeet Singh said.

By sharing instances of how the tool can be harnessed to identify and solve for city specific issues and challenges, Uber can help urban planners and administrators around the country develop their own use-cases, he added.