Bouncing Around Bangalore, India
"You can't make it affordable with a driver."
"And if users know how to use a scooter, why do you need a driver?"
Vivekananda Hallekere, co-founder, chief executive, Bounce, Bangalore, India
"How do you create mobility options for the next 900 million [people]?"
You don't have to look far -- you can see what India is choosing."
Anand Shah, senior vice-president, Ola
In India a new self-driving industry is emerging that promises to work as well in that massive country with its immense population as Uber is doing throughout North America and elsewhere, popularizing a new transportation industry. The difference in India, is their low-tech populist approach where it is motorbikes not cars that represent the heart of the ride-hailing industry there.
Uber and Ola have reached their limits in India, according to Mr. Hallekere. Bounce fields more than six thousand motorbikes, enabling people to pick up and drop them off anywhere in Bangalore, southern India. Travel by car is too expensive for most people living on wages in India. Drivers are not enamoured with the long hours and poor pay. Ride-hailing platforms struggle to make a profit, hence the solution of motorbikes.
Two-wheeled vehicles outsell cars six to one in developing countries such as India. India, with its 1.3 billion occupants as the world's largest market for motorcycles requires a different formula, one made for India and a solution that can be exported to any other nation where transpiration is essential yet must be affordable. In India, as example, about 20 million motorcycles are sold on an annual basis, covering low-powered scooters all the way up to heavy-duty Harley Davidsons.
The travel industry estimates that 200 million people own a license to drive at least a basic two-wheeler, and this represents their client base. To rent a motorbike for a full day there is a special rate of 10 rupees (14 cents). "It's a reasonable cost. And it's helpful for the environment", observed software engineer Mallikarjun D. as he booked an electric motorcycle on Vogo (a Bounce competitor) on his smart phone for a 14-kilometer commute to work.
Dominance in Bangalore, India's tech hub, sees two competitors, Vogo and Bounce, where Ola is based as well. People must pick up and drop off their bikes at designated locations under Vogo's rules, but Bounce bikes can be picked up and left anywhere at all. According to Nomita D.P., shopping with her ten-year-old daughter, Bounce which she has used for five months is cheaper than an auto-rickshaw, more reliable than an Uber or Ola car.
"You wait for a car, and then they cancel. A rickshaw driver will refuse to take you because you are going in the wrong direction", Ms. Nomita, a medical editor, explained. Both competitors, Vogo and Bounce plan to have 50,000 motorbikes each on the streets of the city in the near future to ensure their services remain convenient and competitive. Bangalore is the current focus, with other large cities to follow.
Both companies plan to cut costs with the use of electric motorbikes, costing less by the kilometer than gasoline to operate. According to a partner at the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, "It's a very complicated, very hard business. That said the amount of demand is insane." Ergo, profit.
Labels: Business, Economy, India, Transportation
posted by Pieface @ Saturday, June 08, 2019
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