Sept. 15: App-cab aggregator Uber has launched a feature allowing people to hire cabs for up to eight hours, a service that rival Ola has been offering in the city since June last year.

The new service, called UberHIRE, will be ideal for pandal-hopping during the Puja, according to the company. Ola Rental, the Ola service, saw a "phenomenal rise in ride requests" during the Puja last year.

Arpit Mundra, general manager, Calcutta, Uber India, said: "We are excited to celebrate Durga Puja with the launch of UberHIRE at this festive time in the city. This service aims to address the unique commuting needs of riders in the city, especially that of tourists, business travellers, senior citizens, and working professionals by letting them book an Uber for longer durations. We are certain riders will immensely benefit from this service as they travel around Calcutta and visit their favourite pandals."

The aggregator had in August launched "multiple destinations", a feature on its app which enables a rider to book rides with multiple stops. Till date, the feature is not available to all riders "as the company is rolling it out phase wise".

UberHIRE, however, is live on the app. One, however, can't schedule an UberHIRE ride. A rider can book an UberHIRE vehicle for a maximum of eight hours between 6am and 9 pm. During Puja, the product will be on offer 24X7.