Brands
Maxxis Tyres, Lets Ryde announce women-only riders training initiative
MUMBAI: Maxxis India, a sub-company of Maxxis Group, has announced a tie-up with Lets Ryde, a Delhi-based motorcycle rental and tour-adventure company that also organises theme based customised biking expedition for riders across India and overseas. The companies announced their association for a unique initiative – Women in Front – Riders Training Academy, for Wo/men, by Women, at the ongoing Riders’ Music Festival that celebrates the spirit of bikes and music.
Commenting on this initiative, Maxxis India marketing, and retail sales head Bing-Lin Wu said, “Women in Front is a one of its kind initiative that brings out the skill and thrill of riding. The programme aims to empower and encourage Indian women to experience the freedom of riding and challenge gender stereotypes. As a company with a strong biking DNA, we believe that superior performance and safety go hand in hand. Through this initiative, we want to equip the women with relevant training and safety practices that will help them take the front seat and pave their own journey without any fear or hesitation.”
Lets Ryde co-founders Amit and Kuldeep said, “A motorcycle is a powerful symbol of freedom and individuality. We are committed to empowering Indian women to break the stereotype by being self-sufficient in riding a motorbike. For women to pursue their passion for riding motorcycles makes us hopeful that our country could finally be on its way to gender equality across different realms – this one being ruling the roads safely. While promoting the biking fraternity, we are bringing a well thought-out and planned riding program which is By the Women, For the Women in every sense.”
The lead trainer at the academy will be Shahnawaz Karim, India’s only International Instructors Academy (IIA Germany) certified international adventure and enduro riding trainer based out of Delhi-NCR who has trained over 100+ riders from BMW Motorrad, Triumph, Royal Enfield, Kawasaki, Bajaj, KTM across India and Jaswinder Kaur, the associate trainer who is a solo and group rider. She has been riding for the past 12 years and has worked with brands like Ducati.
The first step of the training programme will entail a 4-day workshop, where the registered women will go through a host of training with a combination of theory and bike control briefings, track practice and lastly breakfast ride with the group. The women will also learn the process of changing tires, changing oil techniques, filter, and steps to be taken in an emergency situation.
As these riders clear basic levels of training, the academy will provide them the chance to go a notch higher with each level. The milestones in this journey will include – their first breakfast ride, biking expedition to Manali, training in advance biking techniques and the ultimate destination will be a trip to a biker’s dream destination, Leh Ladakh. The company also announced that it will fully sponsor the Leh Ladakh expedition for the top performers of each batch, post evaluation by the trainers.
Registrations for the program have already begun and training for the first batch will start from January. Maxxis and Lets Ryde will have a prominent presence at the ongoing Riders Music Festival at JLN Stadium, New Delhi and will offer discounts and add-ons for on-the-spot registrations.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
