Mobility

On the right track: why ride-hailing apps are betting big on multimodal transport

Pranav Balakrishnan

Shivani Verma

August 26, 2025 | 16 Min Read

India’s metros are underused. Ride-hailing apps are looking to add more users. Now, both are leaning on each other—apps to unlock new users, metros to fill empty seats. The partnership could redefine how urban India moves.

Key Takeaways

India has built one of the world’s largest metro networks, but ridership has consistently fallen short of projections, largely due to poor last-mile connectivity.
Ride-hailing companies, meanwhile, need more depth in the market—Uber and Ola’s monthly active users are still below pre-pandemic levels
The answer for both sides lies in multimodal travel, where apps integrate metro ticketing, real-time data, and last-mile rides into a single seamless journey
Yet, urbanists warn that without better-designed infrastructure—sidewalks, bus bays, cycling tracks, and auto stands—digital fixes alone won’t fundamentally change commuter behaviour.

For years, Bengaluru’s identity has been defined by its traffic—often the starting point of conversations or the premise for viral memes. But the reality is harsher: for over 14 million of the city’s residents, being stuck in traffic is a daily way of life.

The notoriety is well-deserved. Vehicles crawl at a glacial pace across most parts of the city, especially during peak office hours. The problem seems too formidable to even attempt a solution, yet Magizhan Selvan believes he has found a way out of this mess.

The CEO of Namma Yatri, the app that pushed Uber and Ola to move away from their commission-heavy model, has just launched something called Transit. It’s his bet on the next big shift in India’s ride-hailing wars.

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