Radio taxi operator Meru Cabs on Monday launched a ride-sharing feature in the capital and National Capital Region (NCR) under which the customers will be provided with an option of sharing their cab with another co-passenger who intends to travel in the same direction.
The company, which had launched a car-pooling service earlier this year, aims to address pressing issues like rising pollution and traffic congestion in Delhi/NCR via the 'Ride-Share' feature.
"By choosing to share your personal vehicle with carpool service or sharing a CNG-powered Meru Cab via Ride Share, citizens can now contribute to solving the city's travel woes," Meru Cabs Group CEO Siddhartha Pahwa told reporters.
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Pollution and congestion are two major issues plaguing citizens of Delhi and the company believes that the situation can be resolved through collaborative efforts by the government and private taxi operators like Meru, he added.
"This ride-share feature is going to be a permanent feature. It will continue even after 15 days of odd-even rule in Delhi/NCR," Pahwa added.
Going ahead, the company also plans to roll out the ride -share feature in other cities as well.
"By mid next year, we aim to roll out this service across 10 cities, which include Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Pune, among others," Pahwa said. "Customers who opt for the ride-share feature will get a fixed 30% discount on the estimated trip fare. It will be the responsibility of Meru Cabs to locate the second passenger," he added.
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According to the CEO, if a customer has booked a cab under the ride-share feature and a co-passenger could not be located, the person will still get a 30% discount.
Meru Cabs currently has a fleet of some 1,500 CNG-run vehicles in Delhi/NCR.
