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India’s car rental industry has witnessed a huge growth in the last two years. According to a report by Ken Research, the Indian car rental market’s revenue is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 35%. Furthermore, this sector is expected to be worth more than Rs.800 billion by 2019.

The Indian car rental industry has brought in numerous opportunities. An IBEF report states that the Indian taxi market is pegged at $9 billion (Rs.54,000 crore) of which less than 10% is organised. The cab business has emerged as one of the fastest growing businesses in the sector.

In the past, passengers at airports, railway stations, anbus terminals had to depend on unreliable public taxis and
often had to pay more than the actual rates. This has changed drastically. The next decade will witness about 500,000 taxis being replaced and another 500,000 new taxis getting inducted in major Indian cities.

The car rental industry is also following the concept of ‘retailification’. They are utilising the latest technologies, using it to deliver location-based, real time services. With the concept of one way cab service provider on rise, Vivek Kejriwal, CEO and Founder, OneWay Cab, spoke to BE’s Ankita Chakraborty about his company and his future plans. 

Q. How has OneWay Cab strategically targeted its market?

A. The market size of car sharing and car rental is huge, though it is difficult to point out the exact size of one way car market. However, considering the flexibility and the huge cost advantage it offer s, the potential is undoubtedly huge. Globally, the cab market size is set to exceed $16.5 billion by 2024. The car rental industry is one of the most developing sectors in India.

The success that our company has attained since its very inception, corroborates this fact. It reaped success with a month-on-month growth of 20%. Technology is the driving factor, along with a 24x7 call centre. Bookings are also open on the OneWay app and website. It has successfully served 55,000 customers so far. There are 1,40,000 registered customers and our app has seen 1,2,000 downloads so far.

Q. How is OneWay cab different from other taxi service providers like Ola and Uber?

A. Unlike traditional cab operators, who charge a two-way fare for one-way inter-city rides, OneWay cab commuters pay fixed one way fare per each route without any hidden charges or overhead fees. The benefit comes with an on-time guarantee, a trusted team of drivers, and a fleet of clean,
hygienic and well maintained cabs. The costs are low too.

Q. How will OneWay cab connect category ‘B’ and ‘C’ cities? Do you see yourself emerging as a game changer in the taxi service business?

A.  OneWay cab has strategically targeted the under-served tier II markets and these are its strongholds. We connect Category ‘B’ and ‘C’ cities with flair and want to emerge as a game changer in the taxi service business. Furthermore, with growth and expansion in sight, it has maintained an asset light strategy and follows an aggregator model.

We aspire to be India’s largest one-way service provider with last mile connectivity. The company will focus on connecting major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai to tier-1 and tier-2 regions to facilitate affordable cab services and plan to expand across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and West Bengal, covering major cities like Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra, Varanasi, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Asansol, and Durgapur.

Q. How many cities are you currently present in and what are the routes that you operate on?

A. OneWay cab covers over 440 routes across India with its services currently available in the states of Gujarat, Assam, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand and Bihar. We plan to enter southern India soon.