[anjan_c2007]

Indeed Ola and Uber needed some start-ups to emerge and take on them. Two EV operators Shoffr and BluSmart it is evident have now landed on the coveted "runway" in the periphery of the airport. Their success could encourage others to also launch operations on this very lucrative Kempegowda International Airport to Bangalore city to and fro route which is always full with swarms of taxis.

Ola and Uber need to reboot now else they are destined to get their lessons soon. I think it was Merucabs that had numerous Renault Logans on this route since the new airport was inaugurated in mid 2008, till Ola and Uber came into the picture. I will share some old images of the Logan times.

As as regards paid news, as GTO has said every entrepreneur worth his or her salt does press releases and/or organises press/media conferences to publicise their new products and updates. The media does its own homework and dissects from such primary sources of information and most of the times draws its own interpretations and conclusions for its readers /viewers. And that's exactly what we all are doing here after the OP was posted.

[SKC-auto]

Good to know, the fares seem to be fair, from my place to airport is around 60km and they are charging 1450₹.

Many people in our society stopped using OLA and Uber because of their cancellations and unreliable service at odd hours. We rely on local cab services who give us clean cars at 1200₹.

Blusmart started airport service but their coverage is less than 20% area in Bangalore. OLA and Uber are also acquiring 10000 and 25000 electric cabs respectively.

[anubhav7286]

I have been a regular user of Shoffr and have used it atleast 10 times now. Have used their both to and from the airport. The cars are well maintained, clean, drivers are polite and most importantly on time. I have landed at Bangalore airport and have found them waiting at the airport on time always. Compared to the long queues at Ola and Uber, these cabs truly give the chauffer experience. While the flat rate of 1200 might seem on the higher side compared to a sedan, the hassle free experience and the large BYD E6 make up for the price difference.

[caveman969]

I am so thankful that I saw this post yesterday. Booked one immediately for today.

The driver arrived well before schedule, the car was super clean and being an EV, the ride was very comfortable. It's a big car with tons of legroom and luggage space, though it only seats 5 (incl driver).

Cost me 1305 (105 toll) from indiranagar. Uber was showing 900 ish. I was on a tight schedule and didn't want to risk it. Will definitely be using shoffr again

[Raghu M]

I guess OLA and Uber had similar ratings when they were launched. It's easy to manage things when they are in control. Now given how OLA and Uber operate, it's the challenges of business at large scale that is pulling down the aggregators. Let's see how Shoffr addresses that problem. I have tried all methods and now stuck to driving my car to the airport. 9 out of 10 times, it's the most cost effective as they charge only 500/- for 24 hours. For a two or three day trip, my car is the most value for money to the airport. Or else I end up just staring at an app praying to the Gods to get me a booking.

[shifu]

I fly in and out of KIA four times a month. IMHO, more that yet-another-cab-service what we really need is for public to use the buses more than cabs. The BMTC has a very good service - it is timely and quite cheap. For KIA to Whitefield, I spend Rs 265. A cab would be around Rs 1000 (Shoffr is around Rs 1200). BMTC also have dedicated Telegram channels for each bus route where the bus can be tracked live, and you can plan your journey accordingly.

For a solo traveller, cab is just expensive and adding to the congestion (be it a ICE cab or a EV cab).

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by shifu

I fly in and out of KIA four times a month. IMHO, more that yet-another-cab-service what we really need is for public to use the buses more than cabs.

I am on your side for using public transport, however, there are perks to using a cab service like the one being discussed and many others.

If you fill up that cab with 3 people, that works out to INR 400 per head. The convenience of not having to wait and getting dropped at your doorstep is definitely more convenient than walking to the bus terminal, waiting for your bus to depart and then walking over to your residential property or wherever it is you are living. If you are time bound, a cab service like this is useful. Besides; if the quality of the service is good, one does not mind paying a little extra for that.

During my days in Bangalore, if I did travel solo, I tried to used the BMTC bus service, atleast for the return trip to my house. One hurdle here was last mile connectivity. I could not get an auto to travel a distance of 2km. If I did get one, the rate would be exorbitant.

KIAL should have atleast planned for the metro coming into the airport, rather than a useless Devanahalli Rail link service. This airport has been functional for 14+ years and they have done nothing in this space.

[siby712]

There is a problem Ola/Uber drivers are facing at the moment. The number of people going to the Bangalore airport are much more than the people coming back from the airport by cabs. This leads to a long waiting period for Ola and Uber drivers for their return booking. Uber shows the number of cars waiting for pickups at the parking lots at the airport whereas Ola doesn't show. Couple of days ago a driver showed me the number of Uber cabs waiting at some 900 odd cabs. This is leading to a waiting period of around 4-5 hours or more. This is why many Uber/Ola drivers are agreeing to charge bus fares and pick up people enroute.

Near the airport you can see the number of cabs waiting for their number. My driver the other day drove back empty because he said he doesn't want to wait that long.


My onward trip by cab cost me 1200 and my return by the bus and cab for the last mile cost me 375. Ironically the bus i traveled back from the airport had just 3 for the whole journey on Sunday 9pm.

[egobrain.exe]

I just flew to Bengaluru for the weekend and was back, I used Uber when I landed at T2 (new terminal) in Bengaluru as there was no BluSmart available at T2. It was a long 20 minutes wait for a cab and that too, and I had booked UberGo and all the cabs were first given to Uber Premium. When I saw they were giving Uber Premium preference, I canceled my Go and had to book a Premium which cost me 200/- extra.

I am a regular user of BluSmart in Delhi/NCR, so I booked my return to the airport with BluSmart, as usual, the cab was clean, the driver was courteous and the drive was pleasant. I literally have stopped using Uber/Ola in Delhi and only use them when I have to make an immediate booking. I also use BluSmart as they let me travel with my dog without any hassles, all they ask me to do is to bring a bed sheet/towel to keep the seat clean for the next customer and I think that it is a very fair ask.

Both the trips from and to the Bengaluru airport cost me 1100/- each.

[anantsood]

I've had Bluesmart airport trip get cancelled last minute for an early morning trip. Didn't get notified till 30 minutes before the trip. As their fleet sie increases, hopefully this doesnt happen.

Originally Posted by MarutiGuy1977

I’ve been using BluSmart of late and they have pleasantly surprised me each time. Clean cars. On time. No cancellations. Courteous drivers.

[GeeTee TSI]

Do these alternative services to Ola / Uber have a day rental (or car at disposal) option? Someone flying into the city, day long local travel with multiple stops culminating at the airport or a hotel but on a personal trip

On a note slightly OT, how does one identify such a service provider in major cities? I had to resort to a personal booking of our corporate fleet company just to ensure clean vehicles and professional driver (and driving!) but I struggle to get an equivalent outside Bangalore

[Piyush Kanthak]

Do they come at odd hours? I have a flight back to Bangalore, I will arrive at 12 midnight,will they arrive at that time?

[anubhav7286]

Originally Posted by Piyush Kanthak

Do they come at odd hours? I have a flight back to Bangalore, I will arrive at 12 midnight,will they arrive at that time?

Yes they do, they picked me up today morning at 2AM.

[s4ch]

Originally Posted by s4ch

Have booked them for my upcoming Bangalore trip later this week. Will report back on my experience.

As promised, here is my review of Shoffr (literally just completed the ride 15 mins ago)

TLDR: The best taxi experience I’ve ever had in India, full stop.

Was informed at time of booking that the ride is confirmed and that I’ll be sent the driver details 3 hours before the start time. I was sent it just under 2 hours in advance, which was fine as I was in the air anyway and got all the details as I landed.

Raghu, the driver, called me up and said he has arrived, about 30 mins before the pickup time but that was ok as I landed early anyway. He asked me to go to pickup point 2 and he was there less than 5 mins after I got there.

The car was a blue BYD e6. Absolutely blown away by the smoothness of the car (my first ride in an electric car) and how it just swallowed any undulations and potholes. For sure this was my smoothest and most comfortable taxi ride ever in India. Literally felt like we were gliding. No jerks, no rolling. The driver was super courteous and loaded our bags and asked us what level we would like the AC and adjusted accordingly no questions asked.

Cost was 1305 (including the toll) to Old Airport road. It is an absolute no brainer to choose Shoffr instead of Uber or Ola. Uber SUV pricing was about 1750 and Premier 1100.

A few other tidbits I picked up from the driver:
- they have 5 BYD’s and just picked up a new MG EV yesterday
- the cars run 24/7 except for a small break for cleaning and charging every day
- they have 14 drivers (2 for each vehicle + 2 backup)
- cars are mostly charged at Shell fast chargers, takes about an hour
- they pickup and drop off anywhere in Bangalore and outskirts, but only to/from the airport
- the BYD we were in has already run 40k+ km
- customer feedback is taken very seriously and checked on by the owner Vikas

Have already booked them for my return to the airport next week. 10/10 recommend them!

[MarutiGuy1977]

Originally Posted by anantsood

I've had Bluesmart airport trip get cancelled last minute for an early morning trip. Didn't get notified till 30 minutes before the trip. As their fleet sie increases, hopefully this doesnt happen.

Oh wow. That’s the first time I’m hearing about their cancellation. Coincidentally I also had an early morning ride to BLr airport yesterday with them. Didn’t face any issues.

Additional bit of information
1. They have a parking bag allocated at BLR T1 for instant booking and pick up from Airport to City

2. They will be introducing MG Astors from April onwards which will give them approximately twice the range as the current Tata Taigos and might be able to do outstation as well to places like Mysore


3. Have added charging bay at the BLR airport. One exists towards Electronics City. Another one coming up at Kadubeesanahalli.