Ever wondered about setting up a new venture and got stuck with what it should be? Well, carpooling and ride-sharing apps are frantically taking their place in the market and are a great option for startups. Let us take you to deep insight and explain why carpooling and ride-sharing apps are emerging like a phoenix. Though as we all are aware that Uber, Lyft, and via have already grabbed their positions on top, there are other names as well that have grossed remarkable business in the year 2020.
The way riding in a cab is becoming a fashion, there's also a gradual and noticeable transition towards sharing a cab. People have turned towards car sharing and pooling. Not a ghastly move, but an expected rise, it is so much in practice now in India as well. Indian apps like Jugnoo and SRide have set an example for Indian entrepreneurs to jet into the business. Especially after the global pandemic situation, now when the routine is coming to normalcy, people are still afraid to travel by public transportation. Also, daily traveling by cab can be expensive and not everyone can afford it. That is the reason why car-sharing and splitting the cost is the best option that is also safe and sanitized.
Now looking at it through a business perspective, competing with already mammoth service providers like Uber or Lyft while being a startup yet seems a tough task. But believe us, it is not. There are simple and easy ways to successfully dive into this market. Have an idea of how your app should look like and what services you want to intervene in. The cab booking app must be user friendly and quick. Therefore the app must be to the standard size so that the operation is smooth and quick. People of all age groups must be able to use it easily. Once you have an idea of the app's aesthetics, you can hire a Phone App Development Company and share your idea. Rest all is their task! All they need to focus on is bringing in new features to the app.
Have a quick look at the possible growth. Uber, as a start-up company, started in the US in 2009 with the title UberCab. From single rider drives to car sharing, UberCab grew in San Francisco with a little criticism initially. In 2011, the name was officially changed to Uber and the company had many permanent employees too. It wasn't available on App till then. In 2012, people could book an Uber using the mobile App. Spreading out to various cities in the US to various countries in the world;Uber has a history everyone knows! The graph only grew higher. Not only this, but Uber started services like Uber Eats, Uber Freight, Uber Delivery, and Uber Elevate on public demand. The total earnings of the cab booking app only are around 14 billion dollars (before the pandemic) Isn't it a beaming growth?
It also makes us queasy to know how an Indian company like Jugnoo would have developed to be the best on the list. It literally began as a small company in 2014. They started as a cab booking company and now have become a one-stop solution for all local needs. Operating pan India, the company has a wide range of employees as well as customers. Besides, an auto aggregator making daily transportation an easy task, expanding its services, Jugnoo has now started Jugnoo groceries, meals, food delivery, logistics, and locals social networking too!
Jugnoo's approximate revenue pan India grows double the times of its previous year's revenue past five years.
Cutting it short to marking the top 12 companies other than Uber, Lyft, and Jugnoo, here's the list.
Top 12 carpooling companies (other than Uber, Lyft, and Jugnoo):
-
Zimride:
Zimride was founded in the USA in 2007. It has become one of the largest carpool service companies among the riders. Using social media, Zimride connects two people going in the same direction. Partnered with Facebook and Zipcar, Zimride has boomed its business. Zimride isn't serviceable in other countries, yet its revenue alone in the USA is higher than many international ridesharing companies.
-
OlaShare
Ola has established itself as a convenient and reliable substitute for regular cab service in no time. Ridesharing has become easy and popular among travelers with Ola. By launching Ola Share, they help you cut short your travel cost. The app gives you the option of traveling with others who are going in the same direction as your destination. You can simply share your cab with them and they will share your cost! It is convenient and easily operable too.
Ola was founded in Mumbai and is now based in Bangalore. The expansion of the company is above 15 lakh drivers across 250 cities in India. Recently, they have announced the launch of an electric scooter factory in Tamil Nadu.
-
Via - we ride together:
Transportation starts up via has shown a drastic rise in its valuation this year. It launched its first service in Newyork in 2013. Today, it's serving in more than 70 cities globally. Despite being a new entry in the market, it has done recognizable work during the novel coronavirus outbreak. While providing lower-cost transit services, the app succeeded in combining multiple passengers for an easy commute. To date, the company says it has provided over 70 million riders around the world, up from 50 million as of July 2019. But like all other companies, even via is facing a battle with Covid 19 crisis. It suspended shared rides in areas like New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco to prevent infection; it proved to be a blow to its shared-ride business model.
-
Blabla car:
With its headquarters in France, Blabla Car was launched in 2006. Though it doesn't provide its services in India, it's available in different 22 countries. It is among the earliest apps that used the ridesharing feature successfully. It provided a share option not only to local riders but it also connected passengers traveling from city to city. This helped the drivers reduce their costs. Blabla car is soon going to start long distance prebooked bus services.
-
Waze carpool:
Owned by Google, Waze holds above 100 million active users per month. Using this app, the drivers can choose same-sex riders or coworkers viewing their profiles. It's available only for the USA crowd.
-
SRide:
SRide is a carpooling app that is showing good growth in India that assures the rider's safety. Every driver has to undergo a full-proof background check to ensure the passengers to get the best possible service possible, and further, the driver's ratings are also observed to have a closer look. Every rider has an option to submit a review in the application and creating a connection with the SRide community to provide feedback on the driver so that other customers can look at it.
SRide was built in the year 2014 and is aimed to provide cost-saving means of transport to help in the reduction of pollution. SRide bets that if commuters opt for carpool apps in India regularly then over 11 billion gallons of fuel could be easily saved per year. The SRide app is available for both the iOS as well as Android and also features online payment options through platforms like Google pay and PayTM.
-
Ridely:
This carpooling app is owned by three Indian geniuses for 4 years. Focusing on real-time carpools, it provides users to pool their private cars, bikes, and even autorickshaws. Ridely targets 5 million car owners to share rides pan India. It has become a one-stop solution for daily commute problems if people.
-
ToGo:
Unlike other apps, ToGo allows its users to chat with the riders heading in the same direction so that they can choose their partners for the ride. This app is doing a great job by gathering people who are like-minded and have similar interests to make the journey or the ride interesting and a tight affair. Not too much expanded in the nation, the app is yet underrated in marking its place. But it is definitely a fast emerging social carpooling mobile app. Thus, this app is the best option for metropolitan cities.
-
QuickRide:
According to a survey done years ago, Bangalore was the worst city in India for a daily commute and it's becoming worst day by day. There's no improvement in the traffic scenario. There are many startups which have tried to come up with car-share services in Bengaluru, in the end, the idea eventually died. However, the founder of Quickride, KNM Rao came up with an app that is meant for real-time ridesharing featuring end-to-end automation in the year 2015.
-
Zify:
With their smart rout match up technology, Zify provides its riders intermediate pickups and drop-offs. This will lead it to solve traffic issues in India. Zify already competes with other carpool apps in India majorly with Blabla cars and Ola cab. It does provide a social platform to all the vehicle owners who want to save a lot on their fuel and also want to contribute towards helping the fight against pollution and congestion.
-
Get around:
This is a US-based company that serves in different parts of the US. Using Get around, you can either give your car for renting or find cars to rent on the platform. This is why the app is different from other carpool apps. Car owners can really get good economic benefits by giving their cars on rent. It is on its way to explanation are wise.
-
Carpool by Meru:
There was a time when Meru cabs were the only option for cab booking. Remember getting a Meru for Airport pickup drop? Once on top, the taxi providers saw a down path and somehow decreased the number of riders they used to get. But never to quit, the app was determined to go up in the graph.
This was the first-of-its-kind ‘CarPool’ service launched in the year 2016 for all its customers all across the country. Unlike the other carpooling services available which are confined to a particular city, Carpool in this app is available in all of the cities where the Meru app is already in operation. This company has the top 20 cities targeted. Carpool by Meru also offers you the ‘personal car’ option too which makes it a good option to put in our top 12 carpool apps list.
Flashing notes!
The pandemic has given many minds enough time to think about starting up a new business. If you are one of them and looking forward to a great startup plan, this is one option you can look for. Looking at the list provided above, in any part of the world, you will get an idea of how you can launch and grow in the years coming. With all those speculations in mind, we still want to see carpool apps in India as mainstream, so that the real-time issues of congestion and pollution are reduced if not resolved entirely.
