Move over app-based taxis, you now have app-based bus services that offer a comfortable travel with flexibility in timing and are cost effective too. SHAlINI SAKSENA tells you more
Are you tired of getting jolted in a metro while going to officeIJ Is taking a cab proving to be costlyIJ Is driving your car tiring you outIJ Fret not. There is a solution on how one can reach office on time without any hassles.
A service that was launched in 2015 by Deepanshu Malviya and Amit Singh, Shuttl is a bus service for commuters in satellite cities like Noida and Gurugram. Depending on the route and the distance to be travelled, the cost can vary between Rs50 to Rs80 per trip.
However, there is a catch here. Unlike an app-based taxis which you can book when it takes your fancy, for a bus, you will have to book for at least five rides. Of course, one can book for the entire month as well.
The good news is that you can book this shuttle ride like you would do a taxi. You download the app and register the account. Once you are done, you feed in a boarding point, drop point and time of commencement and get the ride. The user can recharge the app wallet with a minimum of Rs500.
To begin with, there were around 250 buses today which have 450 connections around 300 routes in Delhi-NCR — mainly offices in Gurugram, Noida and South Delhi — where it is high commercial activity ferrying 20,000 people with two peak travel times — from 6:30 am to 10:30 am and from 5 pm to 9 pm.
The service aims at being a service that is comfortable — a ride that was not crowded, had air-conditioning and was affordable as well.
“It all began with connecting high-density residential areas. It is not possible to pick up each and every person from his or her home or office. The service is available 200 metres to a couple o km away — close to the houses and with drops to their offices,” Singh says.
The service is different from what a charter bus offers. First, it is not technolgy driven. Second, they have a fixed time, they will pick up the office-goer at say, 8 am, and again at 6:30 pm in the evening to drop him home. If a person misses this time, he misses.
But with app-based services, the timings are flexible since one is not bound to one fixed bus service provider. Also, it is an app, you don’t have to do much. Unlike a charter bus for which one has to buy a monthly pass whether one uses it or not, here one has flexible options.
“There are different ride plans that the commuter can take. For example, if a commuter decides to use this service three times in a week, it works out for 10 days a month. You buy a pass and consume it over the month,” Singh asks.
Unfortunately, since this service works on subscription, a one-off ride is not possible. But since there are several benefits of availing this service — one can track the bus and one can see where the pick up point is — means that there are many takers of this convenient ride.
As many as 57 per cent people have moved to this service, shedding their car-based rides like driving themselves, car-pooling or taking cabs to office. This is because there is a rise in awareness related to air pollution and the need to tackle it. Such services help the environment too.
“As more and more people find alternatives to taking cars to office, it will reduce traffic congestion and reduce air pollutants. For now, our service has managed to reduce approximately 4,000 tonnes of CO2 emission in Delhi-NCR,” Singh asserts.
Also, as woman safety is a major area of concern in this region, there are several safeguards. It is possible to track each commuter via the app.
“Since everything is tracked it can be improved. Also, feedback from the commuters helps better the service. There is a stern verification system with a three- tier training session where the driver is taught how to speak with the commuters, how to ask for authentication and how to use the app,” Singh says.
last year, to strengthen the bus service in the Capital, AAP had given its nod to app-based air conditioned bus services. Under the scheme, any bus aggregator who could maintain at least 50 buses could get a licence from the Delhi’s Transport Department.
All that the app users need to do is find a bus going towards their destination and book a seat. Fare collection is done only through electronic payment. Since the bus operators will not allow any person to board the bus if their name has not been included in the passenger list, it will take care of women safety issues.
Delhi is not the only market for such services. There are other players too like rBus, Cityflo and H2O in Mumbai and rides like Zipgo in Bengaluru. Then there is Rapido — an app-based taxi service in Bengaluru wherein BPO employees and students provide the service.The advantage is that they earn extra money and can work whatever timings suits them.
It is estimated that the market for bus services is much larger than taxis, standing for now at Rs60,000 crore. Seeing this potential, big players like Ola have already introduced shuttle bus services.
With more and more routes and buses being added, taking this shuttle can be the right step in tackling traffic, pollution, safety and, of course, holes in the pockets.