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Ride hailing app <keyword id="19895382" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Uber" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Uber" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Uber">Uber</keyword> has received an aggregator licence by the <keyword id="21734294" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi-Transport-Department" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Delhi Transport Department" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Delhi Transport Department">Delhi Transport Department</keyword> to operate buses in the national capital under the <keyword id="19158971" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi-premium-Bus-Scheme" source="Orion">Delhi premium Bus Scheme</keyword>, the company said in a statement. With this, Delhi becomes the first state to award a licence for bus operations, while Uber becomes the first aggregator to be granted a licence under the Delhi Premium Bus scheme, the statement said. "Following a successful pilot programme, where we witnessed significant demand for buses, we are thrilled to officially introduce the convenience of Uber rides to buses in Delhi," <keyword id="21734295" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="uber-shuttle" source="keywords">Uber Shuttle</keyword> India head Amit Deshpande said. Customers will be able to pre-book seats on their preferred route by choosing the 'Uber Shuttle' option on the <keyword id="1999454" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="uber-app" source="Orion">Uber app</keyword>. The formal launch of Uber Shuttle, a bus service tailored for daily commuting needs, brings to fruition a pilot programme that was initially tested in Delhi-NCR and has been operational in Kolkata since last year under an MoU with the West Bengal government, as per the statement. Commuters will be able to pre-book seats up to a week in advance, track the live location and route of the bus, and view its expected time of arrival (ETA) -- all through the Uber app, it said. Each shuttle vehicle will be able to accommodate 19-50 passengers and will be operated by local fleet partners using Uber's technology.

Uber gets licence to operate buses in Delhi

In a bid to control the alarming levels of Delhi’s air pollution, CM <keyword id="260213" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arvind-Kejriwal">Arvind Kejriwal</keyword> has planned to allow private vehicles with even and odd registration numbers on alternate days from January 1 next year. This step, however odd it may sound, can get really beneficial for bus aggregation startups like <keyword id="3009822" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shuttl">Shuttl</keyword> and <keyword id="3009942" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ZipGo">ZipGo</keyword>, who can jump on the opportunity to offer their services to more people now. 
 
Shuttl, which is the largest bus aggregation players in the Delhi-NCR has around 500 vehicles on its network. ZipGo too has entered the Delhi market, and has plans to launch women-only buses. 
 
3 million people already use metro every day to commute, while for buses this number is 5 million. With 50% of Delhi’s private vehicles taken off road, the public transport needs to be made more efficient. 
 Mumbai-based venture <keyword id="3009821" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="rBus">rBus</keyword> is also evaluating a Delhi launch after the announcement, even as Kejriwal later confirmed that this step would be more of an experiment for the first two weeks of January, and results would determine the final step. 
 Big players like Ola and Uber would wait for the results before bouncing on the opportunity. "Delhi being one of our major cities and headquarter, we will be looking to bring <keyword id="6591085" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="UberPool">UberPool</keyword> there very soon," an Uber spokesperson told ET. 
 
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/shuttlapp/?fref=ts">Image source</a>

Kejriwal's odd-even rule to benefit bus aggregation startups

<ul><li>Things are finally getting back to normal and people are starting to <keyword id="6354692" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="travel" source="Orion">travel</keyword> again. To make the most of this, intercity <keyword id="41800" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bus" source="Orion">bus</keyword> services player <keyword id="8824130" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="intrcity" source="Orion">IntrCity</keyword> has come up with its first-ever campaign.</li><li>We spoke to <keyword id="13458400" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="swapnil-tripathi" source="Orion">Swapnil Tripathi</keyword>, Chief Business Officer, IntrCity SmartBus about the spike in travel in the last few months and the kind of growth they are seeing, their new campaign and their larger marketing strategies.</li></ul>As things get back to normal and people start to go back to their long list of holidays that had been paused due to the pandemic in the last 2 years, IntrCity, a player that offers intercity bus services has come up with its first-ever campaign, 'It’s not a bus, it is a SmartBus'. Through the campaign, the brand wants to reiterate IntrCity SmartBus as a customer-centric brand. It is also trying to acquire new customers in Delhi and Bangalore through its communication. It also has plans of spending aggressively on marketing this year, to reach out to customers to further communicate the core offerings of the brand. Serving close to 1.5 lakh passengers every month, the brand currently operates in 16 states, covering over 630 routes across J&amp;K (Kashmir) to Kanyakumari (Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu). IntrCity SmartBus covers over 200 destinations across 228 cities. We spoke to Swapnil Tripathi, Chief Business Officer, IntrCity SmartBus to understand the brand’s journey so far and why it was a good time to release its first campaign, the kind of growth bus travel is witnessing currently and how they are making the entire experience safer for its consumers. Excerpts: Q) You have launched your first-ever campaign. Why was this a good time? After the dampening years due to the deadly second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and the Omicron era with extended lockdowns, inter-city mobility has gained momentum once again. The summer vacations will begin shortly and inter-city travel will get very intense especially with no travel restrictions after 2 years. Seeing the high demand for intercity bus travel and factors like traveller’s confidence has returned to the pre-pandemic levels for both leisure and non-leisure travel, we felt it is a great time for introducing our campaign #It’s not a bus, it is a SmartBus to highlight the comfort provided by IntrCity SmartBus for bus travellers. Q) Considering this is your first campaign, how have you been engaging with your consumers so far? Our core philosophy is experience-led where the focus is to ensure that every traveller ends up making us their default choice after their first trip with us. Hence the strategy is to acquire new customers from our relevant TG i.e. millennial professionals, college students, SMEs &amp; traders and travelling sales professionals. Needless to say that we have also created products like SmartBus Savings Card, Refer n Earn and loyalty program to ensure that every repeat travel is financially rewarding too. We engage with travellers at our lounges and inside the bus through our staff, where the captain ensures that they not only have great experience but understand how they can travel again with us. We have brand tie-ups which ensures that our travellers get overwhelmed with goodies as well as snacks which they can buy during the journey. IntrCity app helps one manage the entire journey experience smoothly accessing various tools like Track Your Bus, Find Boarding point, Talk to Captain, and Pre-order meal at pit-stop. Q) What kind of increase in demand has the company witnessed from the start of this year? Do you anticipate this number to only go up this year? We have registered a month-on-month growth at a consistent 40% plus growth over the last six months, as of February 2021 with milder slowdown during parts of January and February returning back and growing again from March onwards. In the last 2-3 years, the technology-backed aggregators have led to the creation of branded fleets on prominent 50+ routes across India. The introduction of mobility technology in inter-city buses along with the emergence of organised and branded players has transformed this entire ecosystem. We believe that our growth numbers will remain at this level and further improve paving the way to have 2000 buses by 2025. Q) Going ahead, what are a few key focus areas for this year? The key focus right now is going deeper into the heartland of India with expanding our services further into Tier I &amp; II cities in India. We are executing a mix of deeper penetration in routes that we are already active in along with adding new routes from existing hub cities. We’re aiming to have 2000 buses by 2025. Q) What are your broader marketing plans for the rest of the year? We focus a lot on repeat travel and hence have a lot of engagement activities and communication targeted at ensuring that our loyal travellers remain in touch between their two trips with us. Our in-bus goodies bag, surprise gifts and the captains ensure that customers should interact with the brand IntrCity and finish their trip with a very strong recall about us. The IntrCity app keeps them informed about new feature launches, new routes added, special offers and ensures that they travel again with IntrCity SmartBus. Q) Considering people are still cautious about travelling, how are you ensuring the safety of customers? Customer’s safety is our utmost priority. Using data analytics to offer detailed information like live bus status, estimated time of arrival at destination &amp; more, the SmartBus has been built as a centralised system, backed by AI-powered predictive algorithms, that connect long distance buses. This provides a standardised travel experience for our bus fleet. Our SmartBuses are designed to create, maintain &amp; grow our three core promises: safety, reliability and punctuality. Establishing safety parameters for our passengers is a core focus at IntrCity SmartBus. In line with this priority, we have built a central command centre to monitor and manage each bus journey, especially the long distance ones. Our command centre is connected with the driver’s interface in the bus, the crew app, the bus booking app for consumers, and all boarding lounges and boarding points. Our SmartBuses are also equipped with cameras and sensors that help keep track of the passenger count at all times. Every enroute bus is assigned with a Bus Captain who offers you in-person assistance throughout the journey. In case of an emergency, the captains directly contact the command centre for quick resolution ensuring that you enjoy an uninterrupted safe and comfortable travel experience. As a result of these safety measures, the percentage of female travellers who did online bus ticket booking with IntrCity SmartBus rose from 9% in 2019 to 25% in 2021. Every bus is thoroughly cleaned and sanitised before starting its journey, and the ‘cleaning’ status is uploaded on the bus ticket booking app for you to check. Our in-bus staff members wear protective gear throughout the journey and are thermally scanned before resuming their duties. Travellers are similarly checked and are provided with a hygiene kit with a sanitizer and disinfectant wet wipes. We have established IntrCity SmartBus Lounges, an industry-first effort, to provide consumers with a safe and convenient boarding experience. Q) How is IntrCity engaging with consumers from smaller cities? Are you also looking at regional campaigns? Our approach towards the customers from tier-II and III is multi-media campaign, vernacular content and communicating on how our brand is helping them for their very functional needs. We cater to functional needs of the travel and our primary routes are such where people travel for job, going to college campuses, visiting families &amp; relatives with very few leisure routes too. Hence we aim to convey how our buses remain punctual, are safe, are cleaned &amp; sanitized for contamination free travel. We follow a vernacular approach and have seen better engagement with local language content than English. Our selection of media and demography of users is purely based on locations we exist in and cater to.

As inter-city road travel gathers momentum, IntrCity launches its first-ever campaign to woo new consumers

After taxi and auto services, Ola is now preparing to start shuttle bus services and is aggregating tourist and chartered buses for the same. 
 
In a bid to emerge as a complete urban transport solution provider, Ola is expected to launch the bus service in next two months. Like other services, Ola Bus will also be integrated in the same app from which people choose between autos and cabs. 
 
Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of Ola, in a statement, said Ola is focussed on building mobility for a billion people. 
 
A senior company executive told Economic Times that Ola will not own any of the buses and use tourist and chartered busses to aggregate supply. 
Reportedly, Ola’s estimated worth is around Rs 15,700 crore, or $2.5 billion. 
 
"Passengers will be able to make bookings by entering the desired destination and time preference; the app will then indicate the closest bus with available seating,” the senior executive told ET. 
 
Sundeep Sahni, a vice-president for new initiatives, would rollout the bus services. 
 
As per the experts, Ola's bus service will expand its user base and boost revenue. 
 
Founded by IIT-Bombay graduates Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, the five-year-old startup is estimated to clock a revenue run rate of around $450-500 million, and is aiming for gross revenue of $1 billion by the end of 2015. 
 
"They started with taxis and moved to autos. The company wants to establish itself as a transport technology platform rather than be dependent on one mode," Jaspal Singh, cofounder of Valoriser Consultants, a market research firm for transport companies told the financial daily. 
 
As per reports, nearly 1.5 lakh buses transport around 70 million people every day and 23 million people travel by train. 
 
Apart from venturing into several new categories, including food and grocery delivery, Ola is presently working on carpooling, ecommerce on-demand deliveries and logistics. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

You may soon be hopping on to an Ola-bus!

<ul><li>In an interview with Business Insider, <keyword id="217165" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amit-Singh">Amit Singh</keyword>, CEO and co-founder, <keyword id="3009822" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shuttl">Shuttl</keyword> talks about how the app has solved transportation problem of India’s working professionals. </li><li>While there are reports about Shuttl having closed its series B round of funding for $7 million, the company has not commented on it. </li></ul>In the busy roads of India, the bus aggregator and mobility <keyword id="138263" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="startup">startup</keyword> Shuttl is changing the way Indian professionals commute to work. More and more millennials have accepted that the bus is an economical and comfortable way to commute. The technology-enabled, seat-based, demand-adaptive bus mobility service Shuttl helps users select from prefixed routes and schedules, to commute from home to work. The startup which has been around for 4 years has raised $34 million in funding from the likes of Sequoia, Amazon Lightspeed India Partners, Times Internet and Dentsu. “We raised angel funding when we were working on a different version – an intercity bus app. But a few months into the business, we realised that that is not a day-to-day problem we are solving. We switched to an intra city bus service soon after,” Amit Singh, CEO and co-founder, Shuttl told Business Insider. However, there’s also news about another round of funding. While reports say that Shuttl has closed its series B round of funding for $7 million, the company has not commented on it. Answering Business Insider India’s questions in April, Singh had said, “We are in the process of raising capital. The response from potential investors has been encouraging. There is a lot of interest in the massive underserved market we're going after with our unique approach to shared mobility. Our existing investors continue to believe in us and are impressed by the good work team has been putting in and have already made some commitments.” But profitability is not close, in fact, it is a moving goal post for the company. “There’s always a tradeoff between growth and profitability. When we are close to it, we add more buses, more routes which moves profitability farther away,” he said.

Profitability is a moving goal post, says Shuttl CEO

<ul><li>In an interview with Business Insider, Amit Singh, co-founder and CEO, <keyword id="3009822" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shuttl">Shuttl</keyword>, said the company is not competing with <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> and <keyword id="6354720" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola">Ola</keyword> and instead complements them. </li><li>Shuttl has taken a public transport provider – bus – and offered it as a private transport service.</li></ul>India’s transportation industry has seen the rise of homegrown <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword> like Ola and the entry of global bigwigs like Uber. When bus aggregator and mobility app Shuttl came in 2015, it operated in the grey area between public and private transport. So, Shuttl competes in a market that already has public transportation like the metro along with convenience factors like Uber and Ola. Amit Singh, co-founder and CEO, Shuttl, believes they built a category that didn’t exist. “Small changes make the product very different. They are on-demand companies, we are a planned ride share company – with slots, routes and subscriptions,” he said. Singh explains that the difference between transportation and mobility is that mobility is a bottoms-up approach. “We care about where our consumer is, where he/she wants to go and build routes accordingly. Everything is consumer focused. Even when you are doing a traffic study for the metro, you need to be very confident about what the demand would be 5 years down the line as well. If you don’t get it right, viability goes for a toss,” he said. In fact, this was one of the challenges Singh faced when they began working on Shuttl. While buses have been operational in India for ages, they had not really been integrated with technology. This meant that Singh had no proof-of-concept whether the startup would actually take off.

Here’s why Shuttl is not in a competition with Uber and Ola

<ul><li>Paid carpooling and ridesharing may be banned in Delhi by the committee in charge of reviewing the regulations of app-based cab operators. </li><li>Under the City Taxi Scheme 2017, permits only allow cab operators to pick up passengers from point A to point B, without any intermediary stops.</li><li>Considering Delhi’s parking, congestion and air quality problems, the fall out of such a ruling remains uncertain. </li></ul>The five-member committee currently reviewing the regulation of app-based cab operators like Uber and Ola in <keyword id="6358777" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="New-Delhi">New Delhi</keyword> is <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/auto/auto-news/cab-pool-rides-likely-to-be-banned-in-delhi/articleshow/65976950.cms?utm_source=ETTopNews&amp;utm_medium=HP&amp;utm_campaign=TN&amp;utm_content=23&amp;from=mdr">unlikely to rule in favour of paid carpools</a>. With the national capital’s <keyword id="71724" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="traffic-congestion">traffic congestion</keyword> problems and air quality issues, the consequences of this move may have ample environmental fallouts. Under the City Taxi Scheme 2017, cabs are only allowed to pick up and drop passengers from one point to the next. Currently legal provisions only allow buses to pick up other passengers along the route and make multiple stops. After effects Customers are going bear the ultimate brunt if the verdict rules in favour of banning of ride-sharing. Even if individuals choose to pay more and opt for solo rides, the increased congestion on the road with more people using individual cars, will add to the time opportunity cost. The increasing number of cars on the road could also spell worsening air quality in New Delhi. <a href="http://www.who.int/airpollution/data/cities/en/">According</a> to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Delhi has 292 micrograms per cubic meter of PM10 particles. That’s double the amount in Dakar, the second city on the list. The effect on the companies themselves is a different story. Recent reports <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/uber-ola-enter-slow-lane-in-2018/articleshow/65927443.cms">indicate</a> that while the absolute number of rides have been increasing, the companies are now growing at a slower rate. Experts believe that one of the reasons is the focus on ride-sharing. The ban could either be good for the companies if customers shift to solo rides. Or, bad if customers choose to shift to public transport altogether or find other alternative means of transportation. Other issues on the table In reviewing the regulations for cabs in the Indian national capital, the committee is also discussing the issue of green fuels and permits. Possible outcomes include enforcing that cabs only use fuels like CNG or LPG and providing proof of parking before applying for a permit. The biggest development to come is probably the tracking of cabs. Currently, cabs in the city aren’t monitored as they pick up and drop passengers. But the committee is considering adding GPS monitoring to the roster, not only for cabs in Delhi but for cabs that are registered in other states while operating within the city. For actual customers, the issues of greater relevance are the ‘panic’ button that will soon become a mandatory feature in cabs and putting a cap on the maximum fare that companies can charge from customers. If the scheme also goes through with its plan of limiting the number of cabs that can be put on call by a cab operator, the demand-supply disparity might even increase the overall prices in the market. The committee, that includes the transport minister Kailash Gahlot and Satyender Jain, a minister at the Public Works Department, is currently reviewing the City Taxi Scheme 2017, Licensing and Regulation of App-based Cab Aggregator Rules 2017 and app-based premium bus services. Sources have told Times of <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> that this the committee is unlikely to rule in the favour of companies being allowed to operate ride-sharing in Delhi. They were originally supposed to come to a decision on Monday, but that has now be deferred to a date that is yet to be decided.

If Delhi has the worst air quality, why are paid carpool rides under the danger of getting banned?

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">ShofurShofur CEO Armir Harris</div></div></div>When Armir Harris was 16, his family immigrated from Armenia to the Atlanta, Georgia metro area as polticial refugees seeking asylum. Having no other options, and "out of necessity," his parents ended up getting into the <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="transportation">transportation</keyword> business - Harris' uncle, who had immigrated some years before, had ended up in command of a modest bus company, and offered his family jobs. As a teenager, Harris himself learned the rudiments of web page design, building the company's website.In 2012, when the Democratic National Convention took place in North Carolina, Harris' uncle was asked by organizers to help get 60 buses to ferry attendees from Atlanta to the convention. That's way more buses than Harris' uncle, or any single other bus company in the area, could offer. So Harris had a flash of inspiration and made a "split-second decision." He called up every other bus company in the area and basically negotiated a deal where he subcontracted the work to everyone. The DNC didn't care who provided the 60 buses, just that they showed up on time and went where they were supposed to. And Harris' uncle's company made $800,000 in one fell swoop.Sensing opportunity, Harris realized that there was a lot of money to be made in the practice of "aggregating" buses on demand, just like he did for the DNC. But Harris' family was unreceptive to the idea and told him that if he wanted to turn this into a business, he'd be on his own. Which is what he did: In 2013, with only his $800 in savings in his pocket, he built <a href="http://www.shofur.com">Shofur </a>- a bus "aggregation" business used nationwide today by companies like Facebook, Google, CBS, the NFL, and Bank of America to get people where they need to go. Harris tells Business Insider Shofur did "eight digits" of revenue last year. And by and large, he did it himself."I started this business with $800," Harris says. "I never took any [venture capital] money, I never took out a loan."And today, Shofur is announcing a change to its platform that lets anybody book a ride on one of its network of buses, putting it into direct competition with the likes of Greyhound and Megabus. Here's how he built the business to this point, and here's why he thinks he can shake up the bus industry.<h2>Eight hundred big ones</h2>Harris, a graduate of UCLA, is largely self-taught when it comes to his technical skills. Designing the website for his uncle's business taught him some fundamentals of coding, and he took some classes in college that furthered his skills. But he's not exactly your typical Stanford- or MIT-educated Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur. "I didn't know how to code that well," Harris says. "I picked it up as I went along."The goal with Shofur was to build a simple platform where bus companies could list their fleets for on-demand jobs, kind of the same way that Uber or Lyft keep databases of the drivers available for on-demand rides. Most buses sit empty 60 or 70% of the time, Harris says, so they're eager to use Shofur as a way to pick up more work.But he had trouble finding support for his big concept from friends and colleagues, even as he was striking deals with his first bus companies. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Brett LoGiurato/Business InsiderThe site of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, where Shofur got its start.</div></div></div>"I shared this idea with a lot of people, and a lot of people talked me out of it," Harris says. Meanwhile, that $800 didn't take him very far. Before he learned discipline, "I personally wasn't financially savvy," Harris says. At first, until Shofur started to come together, he moved to North Carolina and slept on friends' couches while he scraped together what he could to pay freelancers to help assemble the software. Even when Shofur started to get off the ground and he was able to move into a small apartment, he kept on his hustle, he says, at one point literally going a week without leaving home.<h2>Disrupting Greyhound</h2>The first major use of Shofur was exactly like the DNC mass migration to Charlotte. If a company or organization needs a lot of buses, Shofur can deliver a lot of buses. The new version, launching this week in Texas, is more for consumers. If you want to go from Houston to Dallas, it's a $29 trip, booked on one of the buses that Shofur "aggregates." That means that rather than riding a bus from a mega-fleet like Greyhound, you're probably riding a bus from a mom-and-pop operator that would otherwise sit unused that day.There are a bunch of advantages to booking your ride on Shofur, versus a Greyhound or a Megabus or the like. For starters, you can actually pick your seat ahead of time, and you can view ratings for each individual driver. Because of those reviews, Harris says, it incentivizes operators to keep their Shofur-listed vehicles clean and well-maintained.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">ShofurThe buses Shofur sourced to do intercity travel will be Shofur-branded.</div></div></div>Meanwhile, for established bus fleets, Harris says, there's no reason why they shouldn't maximize the $400,000 or more investment they made buying each bus by driving them until they literally can't be driven any more. Plus, a Shofur app displays relevant information, including a map that shows you the progress of your bus trip and an ETA, kind of like taking an Uber, but for inter-city travel. It's a big tech upgrade to the bus industry."The bus industry is a very antiquated industry," Harris says.Given that he built Shofur with a lot of personal labor, he says he sometimes watches the rise and sometimes-catastrophic fall of well-funded Silicon Valley tech companies with a mixture of amusement and wonder."It amazes me how you can fail with millions of dollars," Harris says. "I think this funding actually hurts businesses." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-find-pokmon-in-pokmon-go-2016-7">How to find Pokémon in 'Pokémon Go'</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="hjZXVxNDE6GYlGKs36E66HaSXaVdav4Q" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

This tech entrepreneur turned $800 into a massive bus empire used by Facebook and the NFL

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

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A handful of new <keyword id="97416" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Google-maps">Google Maps</keyword> updates are rolling out, including a feature that will let you see when bus and train stations are busiest during the day.</li><li><keyword id="6355629" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="google">Google</keyword> says it will also show you alerts about transport routes, such as service suspensions, which might affect your journey.</li><li>Google will also offer up alerts if your driving route includes a COVID-19 checkpoint or other restriction.</li></ul>Google has announced some new features for Maps to help you avoid crowds when traveling.Google rolled out crowdedness predictions for Google Maps last year, letting users see how busy bus and train lines are throughout the day. Now, in response to COVID-19, the company is bulking up these features to better help travelers social distance.With the new updates, rolling out over the next few weeks, you'll be able to see the times of day when a transit station is likely to be more or less busy. You'll also be able to view live data to get a sense of how crowded the train or bus station might be at that moment."Simply search for a station in Google Maps or tap on the station on the map to see the departure board and busyness data, where available," Ramesh Nagarajan, Google Maps' product management director, wrote in <a href="https://www.blog.google/products/maps/get-around-safely-these-new-google-maps-features/">a blog post</a> announcing the new features.Transit alerts are rolling out to Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, France, India, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Thailand, the UK, and the US.To aid in improving this feature, Google has also made it easier to contribute your own experiences in the app so that there's more data to draw on.All data is aggregated and anonymized data, says Google, and taken from users who have opted in to Google Location History.As an additional feature, Google will also now show you information about any restrictions that might affect your route, such as suspensions to public transport services or safety requirements for travelers."When you look up public transit directions for a trip that is likely to be affected by COVID-19 restrictions, we'll show relevant alerts from local transit agencies," wrote Nagarajan.Google said it will add these alerts "where we've received authoritative data from local, state and federal governments or from their websites."Furthermore, if a driving route includes a COVID-19 checkpoint or restriction, such as when crossing a national border, you'll start seeing that in the app, too. This feature is rolling out to the US, Canada, and Mexico first, said Google, though it didn't indicate if this will be made more widely available.Finally, if you're navigating to a medical facility or COVID-19 testing center, you'll see an alert reminding you to verify you're eligible, so that you don't get turned away.Google also says the additional transport insights <a href="https://www.blog.google/products/maps/maps-15th-birthday/">announced back in February</a>, including information about temperature, accessibility, and designated women's areas, have now rolled out globally.

Google just rolled out new Maps features to help you avoid both crowds and delays to make traveling during the pandemic safer

A three-day deadline has been has been set by the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Transport+Department&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Transport Department</a> for app-based cab aggregators to stop offering <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=carpool&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">carpool</a> or shared services to consumers as the services are in violation of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Motor+Vehicles+Act&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Motor Vehicles Act</a> and hence cannot be allowed. 
 
According to the Transport Commissioner MK Aiyappa after holding an hour-long meeting with the representatives of aggregators and sections of drivers, told the media that the cabs cannot pick up from and drop passengers at multiple locations before closing each trip. 
 
He also said that the aggregators have asked for three days to make changes in the software that powers the app t which the ministry has conceded the demand and said the transport officials will start booking the violators after the period. 
 The department's decision also follows strong protests from the city's transport utility <keyword id="6371543" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="BMTC">BMTC</keyword>. The letter from BMTC managing director Ekroop Caur says revenues have been hit because of carpool offered by aggregators as well as by other private operators. 
 
"They are also offering services with fixed schedules on specific routes - for example Hebbal to Marathahalli. That is not allowed at all," she told ET. 
 
The cab aggregators, operates under the contract carriage licence which doesn’t allow others to board the cab midway. The stage carriage permit, on the other hand, allows the vehicle (bus) to pick up and drop passengers along its scheduled route. 
 
So this means that BMTC has the exclusive right to pick up and drop a pool of commuters in the city and the permits are issued under the Motor Vehicles Act which is a Union Government legislation. 
 The aggregators also have plans to approach the Union Government to amend <keyword id="54414" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Motor-Vehicle-Act">Motor Vehicle Act</keyword>. 
 
At the meeting with the Transport Commissioner, drivers also requested the department's intervention with the aggregators on the minimum trips they are required to make and the drop in incentives.

You may find it difficult to opt for carpool in Bengaluru. Here’s why

(Eds: Updating with details) New Delhi, May 1 () A "limited" lockdown which includes suspension of air, train and inter-state road travel will continue to remain in force for two more weeks from May 4 across the country, but some activities would be allowed after classifications of districts into 'Red', 'Orange' and 'Green' zones based on COVID-19 risk profiling, the government announced on Friday. Educational institutions; all social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings; hospitality services; and religious places or places of worship for public will also remain shut across the country, a central government order said and added that movement of persons by air, rail and road would be allowed for select purposes as permitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Citing a letter issued by the Union Health Ministry on Thursday, the Union Home Ministry said in a statement that activities as per the classification of 'Red', 'Orange' and 'Green' zones will be permitted but a "limited" number of activities shall remain closed across the country. According to the health ministry, there are 130 'Red' zones in the country with maximum of 19 in Uttar Pradesh, followed by 14 in Maharashtra in the country. The number of 'Orange' Zone is 284 and 'Green' is 319. All the districts of the national capital have been put under 'Red' zone. A district will be considered as a 'Green' zone if there are no confirmed cases so far or there is no reported case for the past 21 days. The MHA statement said the restrictions were extended partially after a comprehensive review and in view of the lockdown measures having led to significant gains in the COVID-19 situation in the country. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India has risen to 35,365 with 1,152 deaths. The home ministry also issued new guidelines to regulate different activities in this period, based on the risk profiling of the districts of the country into new zones with 'Red' signifying a hotspot.The statement said that the Union Health Ministry would be sharing classification of districts into zones to the states and union territories on weekly basis. The statement said that outside the containment zone falling within Red zones, certain activities are prohibited in addition to those prohibited throughout the country which includes plying of cycle rickshaws and auto-rickshaws, running of taxis and cab aggregators; intra-district and inter-district plying of buses; and, barber shops, spas and saloons. However, some activities have been allowed in the Red Zones with restrictions that includes movement of individuals and vehicles is allowed only for permitted activities, with a maximum of two persons (besides the driver) in four-wheeler vehicles, and with no pillion rider in the case of two-wheelers.Industrial establishments in urban areas including Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Export Oriented Units (EOUs), industrial estates and industrial townships with access control have been permitted. Construction activities in urban areas have been limited to in-situ construction (where workers are available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside) and construction of renewable energy projects. Shops in urban areas, for non-essential goods, are not allowed in malls, markets and market complexes. However, all standalone (single) shops, neighbourhood (colony) shops and shops in residential complexes are permitted to remain open in urban areas, without any distinction of essential and non-essential. Anything in a market in red zone will be shut. Has to be stand alone shop. In orange and green shops allowed in markets (except malls). E-Commerce activities in the Red Zones are permitted only in respect of essential goods. and private offices can operate with up to 33 per cent strength as per requirement, with the remaining persons working from home. All government offices shall function with senior officers of the level of Deputy Secretary and above at full strength, and the remaining staff attending up to 33 per cent as per requirement. Most of the commercial and private establishments have been allowed in the Red Zones which includes print and electronic media, IT and IT enabled services, data and call centres, cold storage and warehousing services, private security and facility management services, and services provided by self-employed persons except for barbers. The statement said that the Orange Zones, in addition to activities permitted in Red Zone, taxis and cab aggregators will be permitted with one driver and one passenger only. Inter-district movement of individuals and vehicles will be allowed for permitted activities only. Four-wheeler vehicles will have maximum two passengers besides the driver and pillion riding will be allowed on two-wheelers.In the Green Zones, all activities are permitted except the limited number of activities which are prohibited throughout the country, irrespective of the Zone. However buses can operate with up to 50 per cent seating capacity and bus depots can operate with up to 50 per cent capacity. Schools, colleges, educational, training, coaching institutions and hospitality services including hotels and restaurants to remain close during lockdown. Places of large gatherings such as cinema halls, malls, gyms and places of political, cultural gatherings to remain shut. Religious places and places of worship will also remain shut. Movement of individuals for all non-essential activities shall remain strictly prohibited between 7 pm and 7 am during lockdown. Local authorities shall issue orders under appropriate provisions of law, such as prohibitory orders [curfew] under Section 144 of CrPC, for this purpose, and ensure strict compliance. In all COVID-19 zones, people above 65, those with co-morbidities, pregnant women, children below age of 10 to stay at home, except for essential works. OPDs, medical clinics shall be permitted to operate in red, orange and green zones with social distancing norms during lockdown. In red zones and outside containment areas plying of cycle-rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, taxis, opening of barber shops, spas, salons prohibited. In red zones movement of individuals, vehicles allowed only for permitted activities during lockdown and a maximum of 2 persons, besides driver, in four wheelers, no pillion rider on two wheelers. The home ministry said 'Aarogya Setu' app must for people living in COVID-19 containment zones. Sale of liquor, paan, tobacco to be allowed after ensuring minimum six-feet social distancing; not over 5 persons at one time at shop.These shops should not be located in markets and malls in urban areas. However, consumption of liquor, paan, gutka, tobacco etc., is not allowed in public places during lockdown. The home ministry said the containment zones shall be demarcated within Red (Hotspots) and Orange Zones by States and UTS and District Administrations based on the guidelines of the health ministry.The boundary of the Containment Zone shall be defined by District Administrations taking into account the following factors: mapping of cases and contacts; geographical dispersion of cases and contacts; area with well demarcated perimeter; and enforceability. The boundary of the Containment Zone will be a residential colony, mohalla, municipal ward, municipal zone, Police Station area, towns etc., in case of urban areas; and, a village, cluster of villages, Gram Panchayats, group of Police Stations, blocks etc., in case of rural areas. Protocol within Containment Zones. Intensive surveillance mechanism as outlined in the Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) issued by the health ministry is to be established within the Containment Zone. The local authority shall ensure 100 per cent coverage of Aarogya Setu app among the residents of Containment Zones. Wearing of face cover is compulsory in all public and work places and adequate stock of such face covers shall be made available. No separate or fresh permissions are required from authorities for activities already permitted to operate under the guidelines on Lockdown measures up to May 3. Marriages related gatherings shall ensure social distancing, and the maximum number of guests allowed shall not be more than 50.Last rites related gatherings shall ensure social distancing, and the maximum numbers allowed shall not be more than 20. Spitting in public places shall be punishable with fine, as may be prescribed by the State and UT local authority. Those who refuse to comply with any direction with regards to the lockdown guidelines can be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine, or with both. If such obstruction or refusal to comply with directions results in loss of lives or imminent danger thereof, shall on conviction be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years. Whoever knowingly makes a claim which he knows or has reason to believe to be false for obtaining any relief, assistance, repair, reconstruction or other benefits can be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, and also with fine, the order said. ACB SKL SMNSMN

Govt extends lockdown by 2 weeks from May 4 with certain relaxations

Travelling within the city is a bane for all especially those who travel long distances for work. While women are increasing joining the workforce, their daily commute is still a tall task. While many companies provide women safe shuttle service between their homes and office, the majority is dependent on using either public transport or taxi services like <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> and <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> for their daily commute. While these services are convenient, they aren’t quite foolproof when it comes to safety as rape cases are reported even as cab operators claim to be more vigilant. From mob lynching to chain snatching, everyone who travels in public transport has to increasingly be careful on the road. 

 

 <div type="embedgroup"> <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="59730039" title="Meet the Indian who&amp;#39;s fuelling Asia’s online video consumption" rank="1.0" kind="RELATED" publishDate="Jul 24, 2017, 2:00 PM" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div></div> To hopefully make roads safer, <keyword id="3009822" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shuttl">Shuttl</keyword>, which is India’s largest app-based bus service platform has introduced ‘Shuttl S.A.F.E.’ (Secure Anxiety Free Experience) - a project which provides multiple safety checks to every commuter through embedded technology features that also ensures responsible behavior by its bus drivers. An in-house creation by Shuttl’s technology team, <keyword id="4817841" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="shuttl-safe">Shuttl SAFE</keyword> is designed with Safety and Emergency tools for the commuter which will ensure safe travel within Delhi-NCR. The project provides the following Safety and Emergency tools for its commuters. <div type="embedgroup"> <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="59684409" title="Cashback on Paytm will now directly get converted into an online Gold Investment" rank="1.0" kind="RELATED" publishDate="Jul 20, 2017, 6:24 PM" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div></div>






 

BEFORE BOARDING SHUTTL SAFE <ul><li>Face-based check-in - a seamless, magical boarding experience, along with authentication to ensure safety for both driver and consumer. This feature provides details of ID, allowing only authorized drivers to operate thus bus and on the commuters side, it ensures that only validated, genuine commuters to board the bus</li> <li>Alcohol detector - The bus ignition is linked with a tech-based alcohol detection test which ensures zero incidence of drunk driving</li></ul> DURING THE RIDE <ul><li>SOS and Panic button on the Shuttl App helps the commuter trigger emergency response, when in danger plus a physical panic button is available on each Shuttl SAFE bus</li> Live <keyword id="6354857" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="CCTV">CCTV</keyword> recording has auto alert feature which alerts the aggregator if anyone inside the bus is in danger</ul>AFTER DE-BOARDING <ul><li>Homecheck, a call-back confirmation to ensure that she has reached home safely</li></ul>The safety of the customer doesn’t stop just in the bus but by the above feature also goes beyond where a user’s journey is tracked on-request right down to her final destination.

 

 <div type="embedgroup"> <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="59730212" title="Here’s why Pepperfry is taking the Omni-channel route before IKEA enters the Indian market" rank="1.0" kind="RELATED" publishDate="Jul 24, 2017, 10:00 AM" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div></div>




 <keyword id="217165" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amit-Singh">Amit Singh</keyword>, Co-Founder of Shuttl told Business Insider, “With 20,000 completed rides and 450 buses, we are trying to make public transport convenient for all. As our last passenger gets dropped off at latest 11 PM, we wanted to enable a great experience which is not tainted by worry or boredom. Our prices for routes typically start at Rs. 49 and go up to Rs. 89 which is affordable for most. With an assured seat, the customers only tend to gain from this service.” Singh also assured that the prices of the daily pass will not be affected as these costs are a part of customer acquisition for the company. Shuttl SAFE is also equipped with productivity tools for the commuter such as Shuttl TV, with exclusive content by Shuttl that engages the commuter while travelling to work. All seats shall be provided with earphones for the commuters to experience engaging content on Shuttl TV. Thus, controlling sound-levels within the Shuttl thereby taking care of the commuter’s privacy where she is also free to engage in any other personal activity without any disturbance. In addition to this, free WiFi will be available that allows commuters to read, socialize, shop and manage their personal tasks when travelling. Ride-share is also another new feature that Shuttl has launched with SAFE where the commuter can share their ride details with a friend or a family member who can then track their respective rides. All Shuttl buses will be equipped with these features and would be rolled out in phases on all Shuttl routes by the end of this year starting with the safety features.

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