For the Indian commuter, Uber has been the coolest ride on the block. The cab-booking service’s convenient, cashless payment system made it a hot favorite in India—it brought freedom from hailing a cab, haggling over the fare, or dealing with notorious taxi drivers who won’t give change or comply with the prescribed meter fare.
No wonder then that within a year of its launch, India became Uber’s largest market outside the US. A big part of the appeal was that paying for an Uber ride was completely frictionless: riders could walk away from their Uber car and their credit cards would be automatically billed for the fare.