Across major Indian cities a silent revolution is brewing among taxi drivers who are gaining from the advent of a new breed of startups that are transforming the industry. 
 
Monthly income of several taxi drivers have at least tripled and a few with leadership skills have become entrepreneurs themselves, by managing scores of other drivers. 
 
The startups, which use technology to manage this network of drivers and link them to customers, earn a 2-5 per cent commission from the driver on every trip. Companies like Olacabs, TaxiForSure, Meru and Uber are making a dent in India's taxi-rentals market estimated at about $ 6 billion. 
 
In the process, they are changing the lives of thousands of drivers. ET takes a close look at five people who have benefited enormously from this rising trend. 
 
Khamer Gulzar B.Com first year dropout MERU CABS INCOME BEFORE: NIL 
 After having worked in Dubai as a sales executive for about 15 years, Khamer Gulzar returned to India in 2003 with some <keyword id="25450" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="savings">savings</keyword> to start a restaurant. It failed. He started a used car business with the leftover savings. 
 
Two failed ventures landed Gulzar in deep debt of Rs 15 lakh. That's when he decided to join Meru Cabs as a driver in 2009. Within four years, Gulzar has become debt free. He earns about Rs 40,000 per month, of which he saves nearly Rs 10,000. 
 
"My next goal is to buy my own house and ensure my kids have the best education," said Gulzar, a father to two school-going children. "My daughter wants to be a doctor and I can support her dream with this job," said Gulzar, who owns a Mahindra Logan cab. 
 
Bharathi Veerath School dropout UBER INCOME BEFORE: Rs 14,000 
 
Bharathi Veerath migrated from Warangal in 2005 to Bangalore with her mother and brother in search of a livelihood. A school dropout, she took to odd jobs of tailoring and working in travel agencies, before taking to driving taxis with an all women operated Angel Cabs last year. 
 Veerath was the first woman licenced <keyword id="51966" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Taxi-driver">taxi driver</keyword> in India. She earned Rs 15,000 per month till October as a driver with Angel Cabs, when she heard of India entry of USbased taxi hailing application Uber. She decided to risk and join Uber. Veerath bought a <keyword id="67915" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ford-Fiesta">Ford Fiesta</keyword>, loaned by Canara Bank on an <keyword id="6357050" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="EMI">EMI</keyword> of Rs 17,000 per month. Within five months, her income increased to Rs 45,000 per month, from her own car which she drives for Uber and other taxi fleet operators. 
 "Owning my car has given me freedom to work upon my will," said Veerath, who loves to drive for almost 12 hours a day. When not in a mood to take work, she simply switches off her <keyword id="6354606" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="iPhone">iPhone</keyword> which has the Uber app loaded on it. 
 
GG Balaji SSC dropout SAVAARI INCOME BEFORE: Rs 10,000 
 
While taking a few tourists around Coorg last year, Bangalore-based <keyword id="6371561" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cab-driver">cab driver</keyword> GG Balaji's father suffered a cardiac problem. He left the cab in Coorg and returned to Bangalore to mortgage family gold to have a bypass surgery done for his father. None of the local taxi operators came to his rescue. 
 
That's when Balaji decided to attach himself to Savaari Car Rentals, an Intel Capital-funded taxi rentals startup, as a full time driver. His monthly income has grown from Rs 10,000 per month to Rs 35,000 within six months. Over and above that, Balaji gets a diesel allowance of about Rs 20,000 per month. 
 
"It's a nice feeling to know that a fixed salary will get credited every month," said Balaji, who had earlier served in Indian Army's Corp of Artillery Air Defence till 1996 on the borders. Balaji's next goal is to buy a plot of land. "I am also buying a Tata Manza this Diwali and attaching a relative of mine who will pay me a monthly commission on it," said Balaji. 
 
Reshma Banu 12th Standard Pass OLACABS INCOME BEFORE: NIL 
 
 
Bangalore-based Reshma Banu, a housewife, morphed into a mini entrepreneur in 2006 when she started her car rental business in 2006, egged on by her husband. She bought a Tata Indica with a bank loan. With the emergence of taxi startups in Bangalore, last year, her business took off. 
 Banu signed up with Olacabs as an operator last year. Her business has now grown to a fl eet of 16 cars, which includes Innovas, Fiestas and Micras. "I bought five <keyword id="46283" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nissan">Nissan</keyword> Micra cars for use in Olacabs last month at a discount of Rs 1 lakh per car offered by the company," she said. 
 
"The drive to be an independent woman keeps me motivated," said Banu. Banu has also tied up with seven more aggregators and earns a net profit of about Rs 1 lakh a month, from Olacabs alone. "My next goal is to buy five more cars, this year," she added. 
 
Rajesh Kumar 7th Standard Pass TAXIFORSURE INCOME BEFORE: Rs 15,000 
 
Delhi-based Rajesh Kumar used to be a bus driver earning Rs 15,000 per month before he attached himself with TaxiForSure in January, last year. 
 
On a visit to Delhi, TaxiForSure chief executive Aprameya Radhakrishnan, asked Kumar, the name of a company, if he ever owned one. Kumar came out with the name 'Shabnam Cabs'. 
 
In March 2013, Shabnam Cabs was up and running in Delhi as a local taxi operator. The 43-year-old now has over 100 cab drivers under him, and earns a commission of 2 per cent per trip from each of them in addition to Rs 1,000 as monthly commission per driver. 
 
His monthly gross income has increased 10-fold to Rs 1.2 lakh, out of which he gets a profit Rs 60,000. Father of two grown up kids, Kumar plans to have his son involved in the business, after he graduates from Delhi University. 
 
"My next goal is to expand my business to Chandigarh and Jaipur," said Kumar, who was recently flown to Hyderabad by TaxiForSure to coach newly attached drivers.

How Startups Like Meru, Uber, Olacabs, TaxiForSure Have Transformed Lives Of Taxi Drivers

<keyword id="205081" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Meru">Meru</keyword> has announced major reduction its Radio Taxi category fares to Rs. 16 per km on all NOW category rides booked via <keyword id="1975048" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Meru-app">Meru App</keyword> in Delhi NCR from the existing government-approved rates of Rs. 23 per Km for day time and Rs. 28.75 per Km during night time. 
The new price, available exclusively on Meru’s mobile application comes with no surge price, no ride time charge, no base fare and no night time charge. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/bi-investigation-business-models-akin-to-amazon-and-ubers-arent-working-for-indian-startups/articleshow/57287190.cms">ALSO READ: BI Investigation: Business models akin to Amazon and Uber’s aren’t working for Indian startups</a> 
 
With the latest reduction in fares without surge price, ride time charges, base fare and night time charges, Meru becomes the most competitive cab service in Delhi-NCR in the category. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/exclusive-check-out-the-inside-of-yumists-kitchen-from-where-delicious-meals-are-delivered-to-you/articleshow/57409991.cms">ALSO READ: Exclusive: Check out the inside of Yumist’s Kitchen from where delicious meals are delivered to you</a> 
 
This is how fares will look like now for different cab aggregators: (without surge-pricing) 
 
1) Airport- Terminal 3, Delhi to <keyword id="90899" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Connaught-Place">Connaught Place</keyword>: Distance 22.2 Kms 
Time: 51 mins 
Fares: (In INR) 
Meru Hatchback: 460 <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> Micro: 409 
Uber Go: 458 
​ 
2) Connaught Place to <keyword id="6362997" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="DLF">DLF</keyword> Cyberhub, Gurugram: Distance22.3 Kms 
Time: 47 mins 
Fares: (In INR) 
Meru Hatchback: 314 
Ola Micro: 359 
Uber GO: 300 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/attend-this-quirky-wedding-to-rent-some-cool-furniture-for-your-house/articleshow/57310922.cms">ALSO READ: Attend this quirky wedding to rent some cool furniture for your house</a> 
 
3) Noida to GK 1: Distance: 21.6 Kms 
Time: 34 mins 
Fares: (In INR) 
Meru Hatchback: 289 
Ola Micro: 352 
Uber GO: 368 
 
As the Uber, Ola prices are subject to surge pricing, Meru might be the best taxi option in some cases.

Meru reduced prices in Delhi NCR to compete with Uber and Ola and this is how much it will cost to travel from Airport to Connaught place

You must have by now heard about Ola and Uber planning to raise their fares. This comes as real bad news for all the commuters who had started relying heavily on Ola and Uber taxis for their daily commute, owing to their economical pricing over the exorbitant fares charged by local taxis and autos. However, it seems commute is going to be a big problem all over again. 
 
Both cab aggregators have announced they are increasing their prices in the lowest category of cabs - the bracket used mostly by the middle and upper- middle class commuters. 
 
In Delhi, where Ola was charging Rs 6 per km apart from the base fare of Rs 40 for its Micro cabs, it will now be charging almost double - Rs 12 per km after the first 20 km. 
 
Same is the case with Uber. In Delhi for instance, an UberGo commuter will now have to pay Rs 12 per km after the initial 20 km against Rs 6 per km they were paying before. 
 
In Pune, the cost has been fixed at Rs 15 per kilometre for UberGo rides beyond the first 15 km. For Vizag it’s Rs 12 per kilometre after first 15 km and for Kolkata, it is Rs 12 per km after first 10 km. 
 
Similarly the Ola commuters in Bangalore would also need to shell out Rs 12 per km as compared to Rs 6 all through the journey earlier. 
For Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, the fare scheme for Ola Micro is same as Bangalore. 
 
Both Ola and Uber have taken this move to earn profits, as per the news reports. However, this price war also poses the right opportunity for rivals like Meru Cabs to grab their share in the market. 
 
Interestingly, Meru is already giving discounts to customers. It has recently introduced Exactometer, a system where the rider needs to pay exactly the fare estimated before the start of the trip, to counter the disruptive fare rates of Ola and Uber. 
 
It remains to be seen how this steep fare hike will go down with customers, and who really will have the last laugh.

With fares almost
doubled, riding an Ola or Uber will no longer be your cheapest bet

India is justifiably in frenzy over its capital’s deadly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=air+pollution">air pollution</a> levels, and taxi aggregators are more than happy to milk Delhi’s already controversial odd-even policy. The country's only profitable online cab service <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Meru">Meru</a> today jumped onboard to offer a ride share option in Delhi NCR. With days to go, every player in the business is projecting ride share as an ‘eco-friendly’ option to solve Delhi’s crisis situation. Don’t believe me? Hear it from them. 
 Ishan Gupta, Category head, Shared Mobility at <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> said, “We are cognizant of the fact that 13 of the top 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India, with vehicular pollution being the major source of pollution.” <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber">Uber</a> was not left wanting either. 
 
The company stressed that in its first eight months in LA, passengers did over 5 million carpool trips, cutting the carbon dioxide pollution by 1,400 metric tons. 
 
Ruchica Tomar, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber">Uber</a>’s Spokesperson said, “The government has taken a number of bold steps to deal with the problem of congestion and pollution but we believe that we all can do more to drive change in our cities by getting more people into fewer cars.” 
 
While ride-sharing must be encouraged, here’s the point. The idea that it will drastically reduce Delhi’s pollution is false. A recent study found that pollution from commuter vehicles account for only 2.5% of Delhi’s overall pollution. (<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Diesel-vehicle-ban-may-not-clean-city-air/articleshow/50146994.cms">Source</a>) 
 
What more, while the overall taxi business is estimated at a whopping $7.5 billion by 2022 with a healthy 30% growth rate, most operators would also agree that it’s too early to put a deadline to when ride share might be profitable. 
 "Any new concept comes with a minimum bleed of 12-18 months. We've strong investors who back our decision, and we're happy to bear it", Siddhartha Pahwa, CEO, <keyword id="205081" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Meru">Meru</keyword> agreed. 
 
So if to bleed or not to bleed is not the question, why are taxi operators investing money and time into a scheme that is at such a nascent stage? You see the stakes are high, and the clientele huge. That’s exactly why they’re willing to take the gamble…and of course because they’re concerned citizens. Of course. 
 
Coming back to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Meru">Meru</a>, all of its 1500 cabs operating in Delhi NCR will now allow ride share. The company will ramp up its fleet by 20-30% to cope with the upcoming demand. It also plans to roll out ride share across 10 cities by mid 2016. A senior official said the company might extend ride share to its Eve and Genie variants too. 
 
The bottom-line is that if I'm getting my cab 30% cheaper, I'm game! I’m sure any Indian will be. 
 
Is that all we can do to solve Delhi’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=air+pollution">pollution</a>? Think. India, think. 
 
 Image credit: Indiatimes

Is Delhi’s ride-share frenzy worth it?

You are on a business trip or a vacation, traveling to <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> or going abroad, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Meru-Cabs-is-actually-better-off-after-Ola-and-Uber-began/articleshow/48759979.cms">Meru</a> will now be ready at your service in just one click. <keyword id="205081" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Meru">Meru</keyword> Cabs, India’s most preferred radio cab service today announced a global alliance with <keyword id="3107665" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="eCab">eCab</keyword>, a global mobile app by <keyword id="28249" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="europe">Europe</keyword>’s leading taxi service provider <keyword id="3107780" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Taxis-G7">Taxis G7</keyword>. This will provide high-quality cab services to foreign travelers in India and to Indian travelers going abroad with eCab mobile app. 

	“We are delighted to partner with Meru Cabs, one of the most reputed and experienced Indian players in the category. With our shared commitment towards customer centricity, technology and innovation, we believe there are synergies between the companies. Through this partnership, international passengers can now avail a global, affordable and convenient taxi travel experience via our international network of partners,” said Laurent Kennel, CEO, eCab.
 

	Though it has been launched in six cities, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/This-is-how-Meru-Cabs-plans-to-give-Ola-and-Uber-a-run-for-their-money/articleshow/46622043.cms">Meru is planning to expand</a> it to all the 23 cities by the end of this week.
 

	“With this strategic alliance, Meru expects a growth of 25-30 percent by the end of this quarter,” said Prem Kalliath, COO, Meru.
 

	Launched in 1905, Taxis G7 transports 20,000,000 passengers per year with 13,000 taxis available in Europe.
 “We choose Meru as being the largest <keyword id="85393" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Radio-Taxi">radio taxi</keyword> services in India, it would be able to give the required scale and quality to the app”, said Laurent. 

	All the features of the app will be accessible with a special mention to the seamless cashless payment option of the app.
 

	In fact eCab is planning to expand its features to suit Indian customers more. Soon they will launch services like lady drivers like Meru Eve and a low cost option.
 

	“We might introduce high end services and VIP services as well,” Gilles Gomis, head of Business Development, eCab, who also heads the India operations, told Business Insider India.
 

	Though there are no premium services available for the app users as such at present, but they might soon launch some exclusive offers, said Prem.
 

	Talking about beating competition in the market with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Ola-changes-tact-to-beat-Uber-at-its-game-Plans-to-invest-Rs-5000-crore-/articleshow/48970068.cms">Ola</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Uber-Believed-To-Be-Keen-On-Acquiring-Meru-Cabs/articleshow/46108451.cms">Uber</a> with this alliance, Prem told BII,”We believe this is a standalone good quality opportunity in the market. We did not introduce this to beat any competition as such. We are focussed on how to make this a fair game.”
 
 
(Image credits: Genesis Burson-Marsteller)

Meru becomes the first Indian radio taxi player to enter strategic international alliance

Hopping from one app to another, looking for a cab is an irritant and consumes a lot of time. This grumble by consumers was heard by Shalak Nail and Neha Bora, who have come up with taxi app aggregator-Loco Cabs. 
 <keyword id="3170727" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Loco-Cabs">Loco Cabs</keyword>, which was launched this year, has data of all cabs, such as <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> and <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword>, on one single app. 
 "We started with the app showing the cabs available close by and then a few months ago we approached Uber and Ola (and <keyword id="1428790" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="TaxiforSure">TaxiForSure</keyword>) to allow us to be able to facilitate their bookings as well," Naik told ET. 
 
By aggregating all taxi apps on one, taxi aggregators are to gain only as window will open to more users. 
 
Loco Cabs works as an aggregator for small-time travel companies and cab owners making intercity and overnight trips. 
 
Loco Cabs has tied up with Paytm and CCavenue and is in talks with Meru and Mega Cabs as well. 
 
Apart from cabs, they are also planning to add bus service. 
 
"The immediate priority is India but then as the market matures, we'd like to be a platform for all your surface travel needs. When you need to travel, you should be able to get the cheapest and fastest option here," said Naik.

Now, you can book Ola, Uber from one single app! Here’s how

<keyword id="2401770" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="BlaBlaCar">BlaBlaCar</keyword>, the global player leading in <keyword id="1741372" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ride-sharing">ride sharing</keyword> services entered India last January and it has already captured a huge segment of the market here. With their presence in 700 cities across the country and having already shared a million seats in the last one year, they are growing at a break neck speed. 
 Entering a market that is already highly competitive with players like <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword>, <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword>, Meru and many more carpooling start-ups coming up in the last 2 years, BlaBlaCar plays the game a little bit differently from the others. 
 
“Cheaper service and availability are the main business strategies in India. In Europe we have already made our mark as the cheapest ride sharing service for long distances too, in India it is more about the availability than the price,” said Raghav, India country manager of BlaBla car. 
 
He added that the main challenge is explaining to people what this is, as it is a new concept. But their numbers speak a different truth. During the odd-even rule in Delhi, they had a 65% increase in their services. 
 
“We will start integrating Goverment ID to authentic the identity in the platform soon,” he said.

Exclusive: BlaBlaCar is zooming ahead in India. Clear the way!

Gone are the days when you had to contact the local travel agency to get a cab or hail one off the road or the neighborhood taxi stand. The proliferation of radio cab services across several major cities in India has allowed seamless booking of cabs anytime and anywhere over a call, and now through smartphone <keyword id="6354741" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apps">apps</keyword>. 
 
Uber 
 
The San Francisco-based transportation network company prefers to position itself as a technology company that offers mobile apps to connect passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire and ridesharing services. 
 The service was recently launched in India, and offers two tiers of cars for hire – UberBLACK and uberX – appealing to a broader cross-section of the market. The service, which has grown to 10 cities, is already making India the biggest market for Uber outside of the <keyword id="6356955" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="united-states">United States</keyword>. 
 You need to sign up using the app with your credit card (some debit cards work too). The app shows the estimated time of arrival (ETA) of available cars around you. Once you book it, you can track the reserved car’s location on a map and contact the <keyword id="6366401" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Driver">driver</keyword> as well. After the ride, the amount is debited from the linked card and you don’t have to pay any cash to the driver. The app also allows ridesharing, so two friends sharing a ride can split the fare between two seamlessly. 
 
Uber is a great way to ‘hail a cab’ via an app. But you cannot book one in advance, and that sometimes is a concern, for example: you don’t want to leave a booking till last minute for a 4 am flight. 
 
Meru Cabs 
 Meru Cabs is one of the most popular and earliest radio cabs service in India. The fleet service provides services in seven cities - Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, <keyword id="6354321" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bengaluru">Bengaluru</keyword>, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Chennai – with two fleet levels, Meru and Meru Plus. 
 Unlike Uber, the Meru Cabs app is only needed for booking the cab. Once the cab has been booked and you’ve contacted the driver, you don’t need the app for the ride. Of course it’s good to have to check out route details and share <keyword id="154361" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="feedback">feedback</keyword>, but it’s not required. The meter is available in the car and you need to pay off the driver at the end of the trip. 
 
Also, the app allows you book a cab for a trip right away (within 35 minutes) or in advance beyond 35 minutes for up to 3 days. You can also check out you booking history from within the app. 
 
Mega Cabs 
 
Similar to Meru Cabs in service and app experience, Mega Cabs is also one of the early radio cabs service in the country. The only difference is that Mega Cabs does not have fleet/car options, and has a unified fare. 
 With presence in six cities – Delhi NCR, <keyword id="6354925" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kolkata">Kolkata</keyword>, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Amritsar, and Ludhiana – the company claims to be India’s largest taxi service network. 
 
Olacabs 
 
Ola is quite simply the Indian Uber and has quickly grown to serve 10 cities already. Modelled on the latter, Olacabs does not own its own fleet and partners with car rental services making their cars for hire available through the app. Like Uber, there are two fleet levels, sedan and mini, and even the referral credit is the same Rs 300! 
 
Of course, the Indian company takes care of lack of penetration of credit cards in the country. You can recharge your account to keep ‘Ola Money’ in your account for frequent payments, or pay cash to the driver at the end of the trip. Also, my only gripe with Uber is taken care of as you can make a booking in advance as well. 
 
TaxiForSure 
 The latest entrant in the market, TaxiForSure, intends to bring affordable <keyword id="160739" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="cab-service">cab service</keyword> to the masses, with fares that are slightly less than the options above. Available in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad, and Baroda, the service offers the option of a hatchback or sedan in most cities. 
 
Like other services, you could book a cab for a trip right away or make a booking in advance. However, the ‘right away’ is not clearly defined and there’s no way to specify an exact time. If you are making an immediate booking, you could be offered a cab in the next ten minutes or an hour later. 
(Image: Uber)

Book A Cab In India With These Slick Apps On Your Smartphone

Gone are the days of searching your wallet to pay the cabbies who drive you home. <keyword id="2550411" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="taxi-app">Taxi app</keyword> <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> has now introduced a wallet-style payment system in India in response to recent regulations that require all online transactions to pass through domestic payment systems. 
 Uber has joined hands with payment services firm <keyword id="6357120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="PayTM">Paytm</keyword> after the Reserve Bank of India (<keyword id="30067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI">RBI</keyword>) said that the ride-sharing app had to have a two-step verification for card-based transactions. 
 
The country’s apex bank also announced that users of the taxi app will have to open pre-paid virtual wallet accounts in order to make payments. 
 
Earlier, users were debited the amount from their registered credit or debit cards with Uber on completion of a journey. However, travellers are now required to pre-load their wallets before a trip and the fare will be deducted from the online balance once they reach their destinations. 
 Other competitors like Meru Cabs, Taxi for Sure and <keyword id="1006428" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Olacabs">OlaCabs</keyword> enable customers to either pay virtually using online pre-paid wallets or direct cash payments to the taxi drivers. However, Uber is not expected to follow that model. 
 
It is important to note that Uber has begun offering discounts to customers in a bid to compete against its rivals, especially the ones which have larger fleets. 
 As per a report by The Economic Times, Uber is planning to pour over $400 million into its Indian operations. The taxi providing service is aiming to strengthen its presence, expand into new cities and use it to attract more cab providers to the service. The report comes after Uber’s competitor <keyword id="6362049" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola-Cabs">Ola Cabs</keyword> got a $210 million boost from Softbank recently.

Uber Ties Up With Paytm To Introduce Wallet-base Payment System In India

<ul><li><keyword id="3123096" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ZIRCA-Digital-Solutions">Zirca Digital Solutions</keyword>’ whitepaper highlights the uptick in home cooking, consumption of more cooking-related content and many more.</li><li>According to the report, traffic on e-grocery platforms increased to 15 million post covid as compared to 10 million pre-covid.</li></ul>Zirca Digital Solutions, a 360-degree digital solutions provider for brands has launched a white paper on the “Food and Beverage trends” as part of their “Ungeek” series. Ungeek is a series of colourful, simplified, easy-to-absorb, insight-driven research reports and thought-pieces that are invaluable to the modern marketer. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about profound changes to consumer behaviour which are here to stay. It has impacted the way consumers think. Audiences are now defining their likes, thoughts and preferences and seeking newer avenues to meet their needs. During the onset of the pandemic, consumers had to adapt quickly to find new ways to fend for themselves and discover alternative options to perform even mundane tasks. These changes affected not just individuals and homes, but large corporations and industries. Like most sectors, the food &amp; beverages sector has also been significantly impacted by the pandemic. Zirca Digital Solutions’ whitepaper, “Food and Beverage Trends in the New Normal” examines behavioural changes that have been prevalent during the lockdown. The white paper focuses on key changes such as New Kitchen Development, Health is Wealth, Safety and Convenience, and lastly the new age influencers. Some highlights from the white paper: New Kitchen Trends: From restaurants shutting down to the rise of home-cooking, the pandemic has altered the way we consume food within our homes. • Culinary skills were seen as a hobby, compulsion, way to ensure safety and method to de-stress, this behavioural change has led to more audience turning into cooking-based portals. The traffic noticed on these portals increased from 25 to 27 Mn during the lockdown as compared to 14 to 17 Mn pre covid. • Food and Lifestyle genre channels on television saw an impressions surge to 245.5 Mn during the lockdown as compared to 160 Mn pre covid. The average time spent on these channels increased to 15.08 mins in Q1-2021 from 10.03 mins in Q1-2019. • A new trend “Do it Yourself” that emerged during the lockdown. One such trend that captivated the nation was “baking bread”. According to SEMRUSH, there was an increase of 515% in search volumes of how to bake bread, and 616% increase of how to bake bread at home. • Pandemic also acted as a catalyst in shaping new personas. 4 personas that were identified were - people who cooks food to monetize, cooks food to unwind, cooks for better nutrition, and cooks passively, by default. Safety and Convenience: Digital paved a new path into the new normal as consumers flocked online to shop for daily groceries. • According to BCG report, e-commerce saw a rise of 1.3 - 1.5x no of buyers for essential food (fresh food, staples, packaged food and beverages), 1.4x increase in the no of categories shopped online, and 45% increase in online spends. •Traffic on e-grocery platforms increased to 15 Mn post covid as compared to 10 Mn pre covid. •Unexpected alliances and new business models were formed as companies adapted to help deliver essentials to the consumers - - Zomato and Swiggy delivered essential goods - Flipkart tied up with cab services like Uber and Meru to deliver essentials - Dominos and ITC joined hands to deliver essential goods •As audiences experienced better services from various e-comm portals, they soon realized the resultant benefit of ordering grocery online was convenient. Health is Wealth: The fear of catching Covid-19 led to people adopting healthy food diets, and fitness regimes to improve their immunity. Post Q2, 2020 this category has been in a constant upswing. • Daily visitors on diet, exercise and fitness portals increased from 37 Mn in Jan 2020 to 41 Mn in Feb 2021. Total time spent on these portals also increased from 3393 Mn Mins in Jan 2020 to 4064 Mn Mins in Jan 2021 New Age Influencers: The rise of influencers and cloud kitchens are shaping the way commoners consume content. The need for guidance was picked up by influencers (Bloggers, YouTubers, Podcasters, Instagramers, etc) and cloud kitchens, each trying to get the attention of the masses. <keyword id="3123098" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Neena-Dasgupta">Neena Dasgupta</keyword>, CEO and Director, Zirca Digital Solutions, said, "Our Ungeek initiative has seen massive traction within the trade and marketing fraternity. Everybody just loved the way complicated statistics were explained and presented. During pandemic, food and its ancillary activities got a whole new meaning. It became passion, profession hobby, past time and even problem for some and which is why our second white paper is focused on <keyword id="119074" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="food-and-beverage">food and beverage</keyword> trends. At Zirca, we have always believed in knowledge-based approach with consumers at the epicentre of all that we do. We feel it is our duty to share knowledge with all brands and partners and help them take smart and informed decisions for their businesses. With Ungeek, we hope to being a part of our partner’s journey by facilitating meaningful conversations."

Food and Lifestyle television saw an impressions surge to 245.5 million during the lockdown as compared to 160 million pre-covid: Report

So next time you forget to recharge your PayTm wallet and ride a Uber there won’t be much problem to it as the cab hailing service is planning to restart its credit card payment facility. 
 
Having stopped credit card payment on the order of Reserve Bank of India, Uber will restart the payment service this week onwards. Starting this week, Uber users on Android will be able to pay by credit card along with the existing digital payment option, Paytm wallet, reads a news report by The Economic Times. 
 
"The new solution is in keeping with the RBI's two-factor guidelines and requires a one-time password to be keyed in to make the payment," Uber spokesman Karun Arya told the ET. 
 
The ET report further states, for accepting local card payments, Uber India has tied up with Zaakpay, a Gurgaonbased digital payment gateway firm which was earlier working with rival Ola cabs. This will allow Uber users across 18 cities in the country to enter a CVV (card verification value) and a one-time password received on their mobile phone, to pay for the cab ride. 
 
While other Cab providers Meru and Ola use Indian payment gateways such as PayU and CitrusPay to lusers pay by credit card or digital wallets, Uber was using Netherlands-based Uber BV for payment. Last year, Indian radio taxi providers, including Meru Cab, Easy Cabs and Mega Cab, had filed a complaint with the RBI alleging foreign exchange violations by Uber, which is when the bank asked Uber to discontinue such payment. 
 
The move to restart credit card payments comes after users complained about the hassle to load a Paytm wallet repeatedly in order to ride an Uber cab in India, thus hampering a seamless payments experience that the company offers in other markets. 
 
"At the end of the day, both Ola and Uber want to give customers the best experience, so it is critical to make the payments process seamless," Nitin Gupta, cofounder and CEO of PayU India, had told ET earlier. 
 
Uber is also testing a cash-based payments model in Hyderabad, which is used by all its Indian rivals of the US based cab hailing company.

Now,  just swipe your credit card while paying Uber bill

US based taxi hailing app <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> would join the likes of BlaBlaCar, Ridingo, Tripda and Meru Cabs with the India launch of its new car pooling product, <keyword id="6591085" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="UberPool">UberPOOL</keyword>, in the coming weeks. <keyword id="6354321" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bengaluru">Bengaluru</keyword> will become the first city to experience it, said Uber in a statement. 

	In UberPOOL, users can share a ride and split the cost with another person who just happens to be requesting a ride along a similar route. When Uber finds a match, it notifies the user of a co-rider's details.
 "We will launch a beta version for Bengaluru users in the coming weeks. They will join millions of commuters in <keyword id="12161" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="San-Francisco">San Francisco</keyword>, New York City, Boston, Austin and Paris who have been using UberPool for months now," Bhavik Rathod, General Manager at Uber in Bangalore, told ET. 

	"Our vision for UberPOOL means helping solve some of the toughest problems cities are facing today, whether it's congestion, pollution, or lack of access to transportation," he added.
 

	Uber claims that riders in India will be able to save up to 50% while adding only a few minutes of time per trip. 
 

	Nearly half of all Uber rides in San Francisco are pooled rides. Launched in India less than two years ago, Uber is active in 22 Indian cities, even as it faces trouble with authorities in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi for not possessing a license to operate cabs.

	 
	 
	(Image credits: Indiatimes)

Uber to bring its car pooling product UberPOOL to India very soon

In the age of the abundance of mobile payment <keyword id="727091" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="wallets">wallets</keyword>, <keyword id="143842" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mobikwik">MobiKwik</keyword> stands out having constantly expanding its network and connecting 25 million users with 50,000 retailers. 
 
In its bid to reach even deeper into the payments sector, MobiKwik has tied up with two players who have revolutionized the hotel and food ordering industry. 
 By tying up with <keyword id="2550719" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="OYO-Rooms">OYO Rooms</keyword> and <keyword id="830092" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Zomato">Zomato</keyword>, MobiKwik now brings convenience of instant and easy mobile payments to frequent travelers and diners. 
 
Increased smartphone penetration and usage in Tier II and III Indian cities is paving the way for increased growth of the on-demand delivery, dining and the sharing economy. 
 
Talking about the tie-up, Bipin Preet Singh, CEO, MobiKwik, “Cumulative research indicates that online platforms will occupy 15-20% of the total spend of the Indian economy by 2020. Our tie ups with category leaders such as OYO Rooms and Zomato positions us well to leverage that wave.” 
 
Other popular brands currently using MobiKwik’s services include Uber, Meru Cabs, Big Bazaar, WHSmith India, Café Coffee Day, PVR, BookMyShow, Grofers, Big Basket, Domino's, Pizza Hut, eBay, ShopClues, Myntra, Jabong, Pepperfry, Star Sports, GoDaddy, MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip, and Yatra.

One wallet to pay for them all: MobiKwik ties up with Zomato, OYORooms

Keeping in mind the vast online commuter market, India’s top cab aggregator, <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> is now prepping-up to introduce <keyword id="3071546" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="motorcycle-taxis">motorcycle taxis</keyword>. 
 The Bangalore-based cab aggregator also plans to launch a shuttle bus service. Not just this, but Ola users will now be able to avail <keyword id="3072073" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="car-pooling">car-pooling</keyword> feature on its mobile application, reported The Economic Times. 
 
The motorcycle taxis and shuttle service, however, might face regulatory issues as these do not have any legal frameworks so far. 
 
Internal sources, requesting anonymity, informed that the bike taxis will be on the lines of Indonesia's GoJek, Blue-Jek and Grabbike, which is being used to transport people as well as goods. 
 Another major add-on to the mobile application, <keyword id="3071503" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="OlaShare">OlaShare</keyword>, is being worked-on for quite some time now. The company, however, declined to respond on the email queries by the business daily. 
 
The firm is also in the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Ola-Cabs-new-round-of-fund-raising-to-value-it-above-5-billion/articleshow/49072304.cms">advanced stage of closing a financing round</a> of about $500 million (Rs 3,000 crore), which will give a muscle to the firm for its forthcoming plans. 
 The new services, if compared to the other cab-service providers, might give a tough fight to San Francisco-based <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword>, which is targeting to enhance its business outside the US with India being one of the most potential markets. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Uber-hopes-to-make-India-its-second-largest-market-sees-Ola-as-competition/articleshow/49087294.cms">(​Uber hopes to make India its second-largest market, sees Ola as competition)</a> 
 
Uber, however, introduced UberPool, its car-pooling service in India, starting with Bengaluru. 
 
Kartik Hosanagar, a professor of technology and digital business at The Wharton School termed the bike-taxi move an interesting one and said, "As of now, it should be seen as an experiment. But one with tremendous potential for Ola... However, the company would have to navigate around regulations." 
 
HeyTaxi, a Mumbai-based motorcycle-taxi company which was launched in June, came under fire from the city's transport department, which has termed the service illegal. 
 A top official at <keyword id="151058" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi-Transport-Department">Delhi Transport Department</keyword> said the state was framing a scheme for a motorcycle-taxi service but there were issues to consider. "As of now it will be deemed illegal. We were planning to launch such a service in Delhi but have put it on hold due to safety concerns," he said. Instead, Delhi launched a scheme for renting self-driven motorbikes in August. 
 
Car-pooling services, too, are in a regulator grey zone. Several state governments encourage personal carpooling as a way to lessen traffic and pollution, but as a business, the service is not covered under any legal framework. 
 
Safety is another area of concern, as riders would have to car-pool with strangers. Meru Cabs verifies co-riders with their PAN or Aadhaar numbers while BlaBlaCar mandates a social network account such as Facebook for logging in. 
 
Experts, on the other hand, agreed upon the fact that car-pooling as a business has huge potential. 
Image: thinkstock

Ola is going for the kill! Uber already sees it as competition

When you’re stranded in a flood-hit part of <keyword id="12864" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Chennai">Chennai</keyword>, it’s understandable that the last thing that would be on your mind is the fact that a boat might be sent to rescue you. 
 
Infact, even entertaining the very thought seems ridiculous when you’re knee-deep in water. Like any normal person, you’re expected to wade through the muck while fervently praying that you don’t catch a cold and look at your phone with puppy dog eyes waiting for your Uber/Ola/Meru cab to be confirmed so that you can be looted off of exorbitant amount of money under the guise of surge pricing. 
 But, as it turns out taxi aggregator <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> did listened to your thoughts and deployed boats in water logged and partially submerged areas in a bid to help transport citizens stranded due to the Chennai floods. 
 All of the <keyword id="3139429" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ola-Boats">Ola boats</keyword> (as they’ve been christened on social media) are manned by professional rowers and fishermen and these boats will also be used to provide food and drinking waster in specific areas which are reportedly short of basic supplies. 
 
 
 
Talking about the initiative, Ravi Teja, Business Head of Tamil Nadu at Ola said, “Thousands of citizens have been stranded and are suffering due to heavy rains and water logging in Chennai. While we are addressing the increased demand for transportation in the city through the Ola app, we are working closely with local stakeholders to help ferry those stranded in water logged areas. Boats deployed by Ola will help ferry people to safer areas and in distribution of essential supplies like food and drinking water in affected areas.” 
 
Each boat is said to be manned by two rowers and can ferry anywhere between five to nine people at one time. Rain-gear and umbrellas are being provided by Ola to the rowers and their respective boats to ensure people can be ferried without any hassle. 
 
The Ola team is being lauded for this clever initiative on social media with people hailing the management for being this efficient and thoughtful- however amidst all the appreciation, everyone seems to want to know the answer to the most important question- ‘Will Ola Boats have surge pricing too?’ 
 
On its behalf, Ola has confirmed that these services are being extended to the public for free. 
 
These services are expected to be available over the next three days and might get extended if water-logging continues in the city. 
 
Your turn, Uber?

You Searched For "Meru Cabs" and got 15 results

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