Ride hailing’s future? It may sit on electric motorbikes

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 a low-tech approach to the self-driving future is emerging in India: motorbikes that customers rent and drive themselves.

Several startups — backed by Silicon Valley venture firms and Uber’s Indian competitor, Ola — are betting that shared two-wheelers are better suited to wallets and transportation needs.

The traditional model of Uber and Ola is reaching its limits, said Vivekananda Hallekere, a co-founder and CEO of Bounce, which fields more than 6,000 motorbikes that people can pick up and drop off anywhere in the southern Indian city of Bangalore. The car rides are too expensive for most Indians, the drivers complain about long hours and poor compensation, and the ride-hailing services are struggling to make a profit, he said.

“You can’t make it affordable with a driver,” Hallekere said. “And if users know how to use a scooter, why do you need a driver?”

By focusing on the large number of people who cannot afford ride hailing, these startups are opening up a new front in the global battle to provide shared transportation services. In developed countries, Uber undercut the taxi industry and created demand for rides by persuading tens of millions of customers to hop in a car with an ordinary driver summoned by an app. But in developing countries like India, where two-wheeled vehicles outsell cars 6-1, Uber and its competitors must figure out a different approach or risk a challenge from below.

With 1.3 billion residents, India is the world’s largest market for motorcycles. About 20 million new ones are sold annually, from low-powered scooters to heavy-duty Harley-Davidsons. Industry leaders...