UAE’s Careem acquires Indian bus shuttle service app Commut

UAE’s Careem has acquired Indian bus shuttle service app Commut for an undisclosed amount, as the Dubai-based ride-hailing company seeks to expand into mass transport.

Commut will be integrated wholly into Careem following the acquisition, enabling the latter to roll out bus services across the 100 cities it operates in.

The deal comes amid talks that Uber is in talks to buy Careem, its Middle Eastern rival, for $2 billion to $2.5 billion.

“Mass transportation is one of the biggest issues facing many of the fast growing cities in our region.  Solving it will help to simplify lives and create affordable transport options that can be a catalyst for moving cities forward,” said Careem co-founder Magnus Olsson.

Commut is a tech-driven bus shuttle service that has been operational in Hyderabad since November 2015.

The company is backed by UK-Based Shell-Foundation and 50K Ventures. Since inception, it has completed 750,000 trips within 100+ existing routes in Hyderabad.