American ride-share company, Uber, is bringing its autorickshaw service back into the Indian market this month.

The first cities to see UberAUTO will be Bengaluru and Pune. Users of the app can expect the autorickshaws to uphold the same safety features as the company’s cabs have had, according to a company spokesperson.

“Autorickshaws are ubiquitous to mobility options in many Indian cities,” the spokesperson said. “To expand transportation choices for our riders, we are excited to launch AUTO in Bengaluru and Pune.”

For its AUTO service, the company plans to bring in current auto drivers with valid government documents who are screened to drive the autos. Users will be able to book autos through the AUTO feature on the company’s app and can pay via cash, Paytm, credit or debit cards.

The re-launch of the service comes after its previous closure in March 2016.On its previous version of the service, the company released the feature in New Delhi, Coimbatore, Indore, and Bhubaneshwar.

“We are re-launching AUTO starting with two cities,” the spokesperson said. “Gradual geographical expansion like this is common to how we operate in cities around the world and it is something that we are looking at very closely.”

Ola, a Bengaluru-based ride-hailing service is a direct competitor for Uber in India. The company’s release of its UberAUTO service is now a competitor against Ola’s similar service Ola Auto which provide 1.2 lakh autorickshaws in 73 cities. Ola Auto was released in 2014.

(Picture courtesy : https://www.recode.net/)