Driving transparency and flexibility in a higher gear

Remember the days when renting a car was a tedious and time-consuming procedure? When you were dependent on the whims and fancies of small-time service providers who would sometimes send a rattletrap vehicle for crucial trips and arbitrarily set payment terms? Well, things have improved considerably since then as many Mumbaikars will readily testify. The concept of point to point car rentals been truly transformed by the leading brands who have made the concept much more customer-friendly. 

Neeraj Gupta, managing director, V-Link Group, points out that it has been in the business of passenger transportation since 2002, and is India’s largest radio taxi operator with 5500 plus vehicles in four metros, with brand ‘Meru Cabs’. The V-Link Group company, V-Link Automotive Services Pvt Ltd, has launched India’s first pay per use car rental service, called Meru Plus, which combines the best of taxi service and car rental service. It brings the transparency of taxi service and flexibility of car rental service, with a brand promise of reliability. The unique features are a pay per use operating model with no rigid packages or fixed charges; point to point service, no garage to garage charges; transparency in billing through printed invoice at the end of the journey and retention facility, as the consumer can keep a Meru Plus car for a day long, at their disposal.

"On intra-city and intercity trips, consumers can take Meru Plus outside the limits of MMRTA, as it comes with all India tourist permit. There is a credit/ debit card facility for making payment inside car, professionally trained and courteous drivers, lost and found services and feedback service. One can do online booking with real time updates on their website, access call centre support 24x7 and travel in brand new cars under sedan segment, like Toyota Etios, Tata Manza and  Maruti Swift D’zire," he affirms.

According to Neeraj Gupta, Meru Plus has received an overwhelming response from consumers since its launch in April 2012.  "Most of the consumers have found it the next generation car rental service, which is very transparent. The ‘Pay Per Use’ model of Meru Plus and the quality of standard services, has been appreciated by all our consumers, as well as corporate sectors. Especially the corporate sector - which needs a commuting option that can be used for multiple visits with retention and for inter city trips - has been showing great interest in Meru Plus services. They find that Meru Plus is the most cost efficient service over existing car rental services," he says.

Sakshi Vij, VP - Corporate Marketing and Business Development, Carzonrent (India) Pvt. Ltd., shares, “Carzonrent offers a 360 degrees car rental solution to customers. With Carzonrent you can hire a car for as little as 30 minutes (through Easycabs or the Point to Point service) and as long as 3-5 years through our corporate leasing product. Our pay per use service has been functional for local travel as well as weekend getaways with family and friends. To make it more convenient for the customers, we have a single number where one can call, as well as a web platform through which the customers can book the car of their choice and pay through our multiple payment options. Ever since we launched our Pay per use service through the online medium, we have seen a 75% increase in the retail customers using our service."

Being able to access multiple locations is one of the key aspects of car rentals.

Susiieben Shah, founder, Priyadarshini Taxi Service, shares that they cater to this requirement by value addition and as required by their clients and passengers. It also provides services beyond Mumbai and  MMR Region. Priyadarshini is available to travel to Pune, Aurangabad, Lavasa, Nasik, Vapi, Surat, Ahmedabad, Matheran, Mahableshwar to name a few.