It's been a while since transport aggregators like Uber and Ola have become widely popular. With their growth, a wide range of innovative startups is also opening their doors. Commuting from point A to B has never been easier, and that too without any delay.
Here is the list of top transportation startups in India who are on the way to make big growth! As the on-demand economy surges, these startups will play a vital role in redefining the transport facilities in the country.
So here are the Top 14 Transportation Startups in India making huge waves!
1Uber
Uber’s been there for a while now in the country, and there is no holding back. Uber’s got different cars at different price points. The cheapest is the UberGo - the small sedans which only fits in four people. The priciest is the Uber XL, what you need if you have more than four passengers, and need some luggage space.
Just like Ola, Uber also has surge prices, which means you pay more if you book at peak times during the day. The app’s easy to use, with emergency numbers, and you can pay in different ways, from Paytm to your credit card.
Uber is continuing to expand to different Indian cities.
2Ola
Ola is the biggest rival to Uber in India. The service was launched in December 2010 in Mumbai by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati and has operations in 169 cities with 10,00,000 vehicles.
Ola has also expanded its operations to other countries like Australia and New Zealand. Recently, the company has launched auto rickshaws in Liverpool being present in 7 cities in the UK.
Ola offers cabs with city limits, outstation services, and even car rentals. They have also started a bike taxi segment called Ola Bikes in selected cities across India. Customers can also choose from auto rickshaws, mini cars, sedans, prime and prime SUV as their choice of ride.
You can use a transport app in India to book the cabs who arrive to pick you up in minutes.
3Zoomcar
David Back and Greg Moran launched Zoomcar in 2013 in Bangalore. The car rental platform received huge growth and now operates in 27 cities across India.
Zoomcar is a self-drive platform that means you need a driver's license to drive. You can use the app or website to search for a car and upload your driver's license. You also need to pay a security deposit.
The company sends the car details through SMS 20 minutes before pickup, and you can unlock the car with the app. After filling in a checklist on the app, you can get the keys from the glove-box and head towards your destination.
Fuel is paid for so if you stop at a gas station, the charges will be covered. Zoomcar also operates a cycle rental service called Pedl which offers a zero-pollution ride.
4Meru Cabs
Meru Cab was launched by Neeraj Gupta on April 2007 in Mumbai. In 2014, Google Now and Meru Cabs joined hands to provide instant alerts to customers.
Passengers use the app to book the cabs by choosing the type of car and destination. You can see the cab and ETA before the cab comes to pick you up. After the ride, you get an e-bill and can pay through cash, card or the app.
Meru is a unique cab service as it doesn't charge surge prices to its customers. Instead, the driver and passenger can negotiate a rate which suits their budget and makes both the driver and passenger happy.
Last year, around 12,000 drivers left Ola and Uber to join Meru Cabs due to their business model.
5Drivezy
Drivezy is another car rental platform like Zoomcar. You can either rent a car or a bike and self-drive to your destination. The service is available in Karnataka, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Manipal, Hyderabad, Delhi, Nagpur and more.
You can book a car or bike if you are more than 18 years of age and enjoy flexible pricing based on hour, day or week. You also have the option to opt for fuel or fill your own requirement. The best thing about the service is that there is no security deposit and refunds and payments are processed immediately.
World's leading technology investor SoftBank and e-commerce giant Amazon have shown interest to accumulate a $100 million equity financing in the platform.
6Shuttl
Indians have long depended on shuttle service by private car owners to travel to and fro from work. Launched in 2015, Shuttl aims to professionalize the segment offering comfortable ride sharing in AC vehicles.
The service is currently available in cities like Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Jaipur. You can browse the current routes in your city and select a suitable time slot to book your seat. Then you get the tracking details to know when your bus will be arriving.
An AC bus picks you up, and you reach work safely and comfortably for as low as Rs 2 per kilometer. Shuttl says that they provide 60,000 rides per day with 80% business coming from Delhi.
It also conducted a Series B funding of $7.23 million from Times Internet, Lightspeed and Sequoia.
7Jugnoo
Jugnoo is an on-demand auto rickshaw booking platform available in cities like Agartala, Faridabad, Surat, Ahmedabad, Gurgaon, Bhopal, Vadodara, Gwalior, Indore, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur and more.
The company has already offered 29 million rides in 120 cities with a passenger base of 8 million. The ability to book cabs with apps, zero waiting times and pickup from doorstep have made the service hugely popular and giving a tough competition to the traditional auto rickshaws.
Jugnoo has also moved into the delivery business, delivering vegetables, fruits, and groceries to your home. The company doubled its revenue from Rs 5.14 crore in FY 2017 to Rs 11.7 crore in FY2018. The food delivery service sadly did not take off as expected and incurred losses.
8Vogo
Three youngsters- Anand Ayyadurai, Sanchit Mittal and Padmanabhan B successfully brought another disruption in the Indian transport agency. The company has launched a one-click booking technology for renting scooters in Bangalore and plans to expand to other cities.
Passengers just need to locate a Vogo scooter and use the app to unlock the ignition by scanning a QR code. Vogo is using both fuel-based and electric scooters and costs Rs. 3.50 per kilometer.
You also don't need to pay for fuel, and if you do need to fill in, you are going to be reimbursed. Startups like Vogo are looking to solve the micro distance and last mile travel problems and plans to build more Vogo stations.
Vogo is looking for a fresh round of funds and the co-founder of e-commerce major Flipkart, Sachin Bansal, has invested an undisclosed amount.
9 ZipGo
ZipGo brings ridesharing to the domain of buses. You can use the app to enter your pickup point and destination to browse available routes. After you have selected a spot, you can book your seat instantly with cashless methods.
Real-time tracking lets you know when your bus will be arriving, and you can also share location details with friends and family. ZipGo only uses comfortable AC buses, and the number of seats is limited. That means you can travel in comfort without any overcrowding.
You can also avail for a monthly pass which gives you guaranteed seats, automatic daily bookings, and longer booking windows. ZipGo further reduces the costs of travel and brings down the congestion on the roads.
The offer their service 5 to 6 days a week on fixed routes and are expanding soon!
10MapmyIndia
MapmyIndia is not a transport aggregator but provides necessary resources for a successful logistics and transportation business. The company was launched in 1992 by Rakesh and Rashmi Verma as a web mapping technology.
The company got a breakthrough in 1993 when it started developing quality maps with topography for clients like Coca-Cola and Cellular One. The solution is an alternative to Google Maps API and offers a smart mobility platform for meeting safety and emergency needs of the automotive industry.
Their maps are used by transport aggregators to navigate the streets based on mobile, internet, connected devices, and in-car navigation components. Driving becomes more effective with live traffic conditions, 3D realview technologies, embedded navigation information and so on.
MapmyIndia is looking to grow its revenue by 30% to 250 crores this year.
11 Wicked Ride
Wicked Ride is one of the biggest bike-rental transportation startups in India. The platform has a huge fleet of bikes of both Indian and international makes which you can rent for different prices.
You can get bikes from Harley Davidson, Royal Enfield, Bajaj, Honda, and other manufacturers. The service is available in Bengaluru, Jaipur, Hampi, Jaisalmer, Delhi, Mysore, Ahmedabad and more.
You need to sign up on their platform and choose a date and time for booking. Then you get the details to pick up your bike from a specific location. Needless to say, you will need to submit your driving license and identity proof in order to rent a bike.
You can also enjoy bike plans which allow you multiple rides for a fixed cost.
12 SheTaxi
SheTaxi was launched in November 2013 as an initiative of Gender Park- an autonomous body under the Department of Social Justice, Government of Kerala State. The fleet has only women drivers which is a welcome factor for many concerned citizens of the fairer sex.
They can look forward to a safe and tension-free ride 24/7 within Kerala driven by a woman. The company is also looking to replicate the model in other states to make travel safer for women.
The drivers of the fleet are also happy to get a reputable job and contribute towards their household income. They earn between Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 per month after paying for fuel and other charges.
The company also offers loans at low rates to women to buy their own cabs.
Download for: iOS
13Women on Wheels
The Women on Wheels initiative was started in Delhi in 2008 and expanded to Jaipur, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru. The program helps resource-poor women to become eligible drivers and earn their livelihood with dignity.
The program also makes them aware of their rights, so that they can turn out to be confident and independent citizens in charge of their lives. Most of the women hail from colonies and slums and live with a meager income. The initiative provides training on self-development, self-awareness and technical nuances so that they can become professional and sustainable drivers.
The women can start driving after the training which lasts six to eight months.
Download for: Android
14 ApnaCabs
The 'kaali-peeli' or the black and yellow cabs have faced stiff competition from the likes of Ola and Uber and were in threatening conditions. ApnaCabs brought them into the competition once again with a government licensed taxi aggregator service which the government approved fares.
You can book a cab by calling a phone number or through their app. The government has made the cabs a secure option to travel, with in-car security attachments and tracking. The representatives can track any cab on GPS and the panic button helps customers alert the authorities in emergency situations.
The aggregator is trying to change the scenario of black and yellow taxis, which are said to have rude drivers and refuse rides without any reason.
You can book a kaali-peeli round the clock in Mumbai.
Conclusion
The transportation startups in India have their own share of challenges. In many states like Karnataka, the government has called the services illegal and seized the vehicles. We need modern regulations which address the issues of cab aggregators and brings them under the legal framework.
The startups should also ensure affordability of their services which would encourage mass adoption while security issues will also have to be handled. The startups are already showing great promise and are on the road to significant growth in the coming years.
The transportation system we know today is up for change in the coming few years.
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