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-   -   Bangalore: Shoffr airport cab service; an alternative to Ola/Uber (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/263797-bangalore-shoffr-airport-cab-service-alternative-ola-uber.html)

If you are the kind of person who flies into Bangalore often, you would probably agree that the airport cab service leaves a lot to be desired. Although there are multiple options to choose from, there are still quite a few rough edges.



In a market dominated by Ola Cabs and Uber, Vikas Bardia and Kislay Verma saw an opportunity and co-founded the startup called Shoffr.

According to Verma, getting to and from Bangalore airport can be a nightmare not just because of the traffic, but commuters also face last-minute cancellations, dirty cars, and loud drivers. Shoffr is said to address the shortcomings of the established players in the market.

Shoffr is an all-electric taxi company which was founded in November 2022. It currently operates a fleet of BYD e6 electric MPVs. Each vehicle is stocked with water bottles, mints and more.

The company claims to offer a more comfortable and peaceful experience. Its chauffeurs are said to be incentivized for good behaviour rather than only trips / revenue.

Shoffr currently operates airport pickup / drop services in Bangalore only.

Link to Team-BHP News

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

Good to have some options for the commuters.

Just one question, is this news item a paid advertisement (since it reads a lot like a press release a company would put out)?

Fleet of BYD E6? Hmm thats interesting.

Let's see how this startup which claims to plug yet another 'gap' in the market fare in the long run.

Even OLA and UBER started well, but the drivers eventually ended up finding work-arounds to sidewind the app. Lets wait and watch. More competition is better for the customer anyway.

So what is their model? They buy the cars and hire drivers and pay per trip? They would need a hell lot of capital if this is their model. But since electric car require lesser maintenance, the cost per km should help them recover the money, albeit in a really long time.

Have used Shoffr multiple times and have had a fantastic experience so far. The cabs are way better maintained than your usual smelly Olas and Ubers. Being EVs, the NVH levels are also much better.

My only concern is if they are even making money at all, and if not, how is the business model sustainable? Won’t be surprised if they hike the rates once they get some traction.

On a side note, just read the news that BluSmart, which is another EV Cab provider start-up has been provided with a pick up zone in BIAL, similar to Ola and Uber.

Moneycontrol Link - https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/bu...-10280691.html

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

+1

Exactly the question that came to mind when I saw this thread. There are quite a few taxi services (ICE, EVs) that operate in Bangalore, with varying levels of services being offered, don't think the business model of these guys is unique.

Don't want to take the thread off-topic, but as a very strict policy, we don't do paid content (and never will). Shoffr came up on my radar after I read about them on The-Ken's Nutgraf Newsletter yesterday (highly recommended newsletter).

It seems like a nice service which I thought would be of interest to BHPians. If we speak positively of a product / service in our posts, it could be because we like the idea :).

So no, this isn't based off a press release and neither is it sponsored content. Although, please note that a LOT of news articles are based on press releases received from car manufacturers / other brands. Nothing wrong in that. Press releases make up 50% of the feed for any news website as it's one of the primary sources of "news" and announcements.

Let's get the thread back on track now.

They have fixed price slabs, which are only economical to someone going to/from South Bengaluru. Price from airport to Hebbal / Kalyan Nagar / Banaswadi is same 1200 Rupees, while one can take Quick Ride taxi (they use Tigor EVs mostly) for 600-700 Rupees.

I have used their services a few times to commute from Hebbal to Airport which i believed is 1000 or 1100. I like the cars , they are usually clean and the chauffeur's are well behaved, on time etc. It's actually now my default choice for commuting to the airport.
For me, the USP is their cars.I feel claustrophobic in the back seats of sedans and have always struggled booking an innova for my airport commutes.They send a BYD E6 which is very comfortable , has a large boot etc.

Of late the issue that many of us have been facing is not the availablity of cabs. With changes in the app, one is able to find cabs with relative ease now, as drivers are able to see the destination. But the prices! They have shot through the roof. A years back from my place in South Bangalore it was 800 odd for quick ride or Apna complex cabs and 1000 for Uber. Now both are 1500-2000. Too high. If this company is able to bring it to normal levels then may work, else the charm of low NVH, Clean cabs and courteous drivers won't stay for long. Buses are far more attractive.

I think Ola and Uber are actually facing competition from their own drivers. So many times when I booked an Old or Uber for Bangalore Airport, the driver ended up giving his contact and asked me to reach out to him directly and he would offer me a 100-200 discount. A few times when I was waiting for a KIA bus, I found cab drivers who offered to charged same fare and picked up people on route while I could hear them giving excuses to the people who have booked them via apps and canceling the bookings. Some of this was during early hours when most customers would be sitting pretty, assured of a cab coming to pick up and making it swiftly considering lesser traffic and then things getting all hectic and desperate with these drivers canceling at last moment so that they could make an extra buck. Considering all these things, any professionally run service with good cars and dedicated drivers definitely sounds like a better idea even if their charges may be slightly higher.

Nice, was going to Delhi with family and booked an Airport drop with them. Looks like, it will be a BYD E6.