We missed this: Uber has relaunched its controversial carpooling service "Commute" in Bangalore after nearly four years, reported YourStory. The ridesharing service allows private car owners to sell rides to other Uber customers. The service is only available in Bengaluru, an Uber spokesperson confirmed to MediaNama. Commute had first been launched in Bengaluru in 2016, but it discontinued it soon as the Karnataka government challenged its legality. The government had accused Uber of violating transport department rules by allowing "whiteboard", private cars to operate as virtual taxis. The service ran into similar trouble in Hyderabad. In February 2020, Uber discontinued Commute here as well after opposition from taxi drivers who protested against it. MediaNama asked Uber if the company had any plans to expand Commute to other cities in the country. The spokesperson declined to comment, but pointed us to the blog post announcing the service from August 31. However, this blog post seems to have been taken down. When we reached out to Uber, we were told the post is inaccessible due to technical problems, and this does not mean Commute has been discontinued in Bengaluru. We were able to take screenshots of the post from when it was accessed yesterday. [caption id="attachment_222445" align="alignnone" width="219"] Screenshot of blog post announcing Uber Commute on August 31, 2020[/caption] The post had little information to offer on where Commute is available. It only said: "Commute is being introduced gradually. Open your Uber app to check is it's available in your city." Uber…
