Startup SharedCab Promises to Provide AC Cabs at Auto Fares; Takes a Shot at CarPooling
One might argue that the cab rental space is jam packed. Multiple players with slightly different models have entered and are trying to eat up a section of the pie. We also wrote about how investors lined up to back players in the space and organizing the cab area is the next big thing after being reasonably successful with flights and buses. SharedCab.com has recently launched in Mumbai and has tall claims to make lives simpler for daily commuters.
Sharedcab wants to eliminate the need of a car. They provide services which can be used on a daily basis. "With a fleet of over 200 taxis, Sharedcab.com is the only company that offers an assured AC taxi for regular, day to day travel to daily commuters," they say.
Sharedcab offers AC car rides at Rs. 8/km for a week and Rs. 7.5/km for a month.
How does it work?
Sharedcab matches your route with others availing the service and thus, reducing costs and increasing efficiency. "All one has to do is share your travel details and time of regular daily pick up, and Sharedcab gives an AC car ride for you along with other commuters who travel on the same route daily. By combining, the demand of thousands of commuters, Sharedcab is able to give less than taxi and auto rates," they say.
The Team Behind the Company
The duo of NV Subramanian & Prakash Sikaria are behind the idea. NV has an engineering degree from BITS Pilani and MBA from IIM Lucknow. He has been a senior management executive with rich experience in managing large scale, fast-growing Consumer / Retail / Private Equity in premium and value domain businesses. While Prakash graduated from IIT-Kanpur in 2004 and subsequently handled logistics and operations for one of the leading oilfield services company in Mumbai. Thereafter he set out for his MBA to Kellogg School of Management in USA. In his last professional assignment, Prakash was an Investment Banker in Barclays Capital.
First Impressions
The service is currently available only in Mumbai and I'd love out test it out once they launch in Bangalore. Picking the first two areas in Mumbai that came to my mind, here's how the breakdown looks like and an optimistic calculation of how much money I'd save, very alluring indeed!
Being car-pooling, the obvious question would be the kind of passengers one would be travelling with and policies regarding 'late arrivals'. One might end up missing the cab regularly and end up paying more eventually. This is a bold idea but it would be great if they're able to work it out; both for the consumer's pocket and the environment (not to mention the team at Sharedcab becoming rich in the process).
If you're in Mumbai, try them out.