Self-Drive Autorickshaws- A Pilot Project by Zoomcar

By siliconindia | Wednesday, 30 March 2016, 09:05 Hrs

BENGALURU: Headquartered in the Silicon Valley of India, Zoomcar today is the homegrown synonym for the “self-drive” concept. Recently the company Twitted expansion of its fleet; this time offering self-drive autorickshaws for rent. The startup currently operates in seven cities with a claimed fleet of 2,200 existing vehicles comprising of hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs, luxury cars and even electric vehicles.

The service has been launched as a pilot project in six cities, with Delhi tasting the first bite. "Now, you can hire an Auto-rickshaw for Self-drive from Zoomcar. We are currently in the process of doing a pilot run with limited inventory across 6 cities” stated their official website. The remaining five destinations are yet to be announced by the company. As of now the self-drive autorickshaws will be available for only 30 minutes per booking. Customers will require undergoing a 10 minutes guidance session prior to the ride, following which they can take a 20 minutes ride but, with two company professionals on-board. Citing safety reasons, Zoomcar will allow customers to drive only within a one-kilometer radius of the pick-up site during the pilot run. As per the current tariff released by the company a 30 minutes ride is pegged for just 40. However, a refundable security deposit of 5,000 is applicable per booking.

Traditionally, autorickshaws are used to ferry people from point A to B, with a dedicated driver on the front seat. How people react to this new concept, of self-driving an autorickshaw to a friend’s place or maybe to the market, is going to be an interesting watch.