Premium taxi service Uber which recently launched in India has done very something clever to increase the number of cars it operates at very little cost. Here’s how Uber tells the story:
Rammohan C B, a loyal Uber rider has now signed up as Uber’s Partner with his swanky Honda Civic. Like many cars in Bangalore, his car has several idle hours through the week. Rammohan saw an opportunity with Uber and converted his car into a licensed commercial vehicle. Within a few days Thomas, who drives his car, was logging on to Uber at flexible hours to give you folks a ride! We asked what made him, an experienced corporate professional and leadership consultant, become an Uber Partner and he says “Becoming an Uber Partner is the right thing to do if you are environmentally conscious and fiscally prudent. How about your car paying for itself and leaving more than a small change in your account every week?” Uber and it’s partners are revolutionising the transportation experience in Bangalore, and you can be a part of the story!
This is a really clever way of increasing fleet size with minimal investment. It also has the so called ‘green benefits.’ Overall, a very neat idea. But there are few ways it could go wrong for car owners.
1. The Yellow Board & Meter
To run your private vehicle as a taxi, you’ll have to register it as a commercial vehicle. And taxis need to use a yellow number plate. If you don’t have one, you are running against laws. Which means, your swanky new car will have a yellow board, not something everyone likes. We don’t know how exactly this is going to work for Uber partners but Taxi’s also need to have a meter.
2. Wear and Tear
If you’ve just paid lots of money to buy that beautiful car you own, would you want it to be (ab)used by taxi drivers? We all know how they drive in a hurry. Forget general wear and tear, what happens if there’s an accident? How does one know for sure if it isn’t being misused?
3. Checkpost trouble
Taxis are stopped more often at check posts (for permits & checks) while private vehicles are not. This could be a major pain if you frequently go out of town.
What are your thoughts?
Ashish Sinha