Second cars out, 'Shuttle-Cars' in

Is your second car really necessary? It is apparently not, if the Delhi based car-and-driver sharing agency, Shuttle-Cars have their say.

The service, which was launched in March this year, has been positioned as a replacement for the ‘second car’ of the house which is used infrequently. 

What is it?

Simply put, Shuttle-Cars is a membership-based service that provides rented cars with a driver for local commuting needs. 

How does it work?

Each member will have a personal driver, who can be contacted directly on their mobile phones. The operating time is usually a 12-hour window between 7:30 am to 7:30 pm. The driver’s response time to reach the customer is dependant on the subscribed package, and other factors like traffic conditions etc. After checking the membership card, the driver transports the member to the required destination.

The service is targeted at households that don’t use their second or third cars regularly, and the cost of buying and maintaining these vehicles outweighs the benefits. Shuttle-Cars identifies its clients in housewives, senior citizens and children who don’t need a car for the whole day, and also use the car only for short distances. For example, trips to the local grocery store, dropping children to their schools etc. 

Package breakdown 

There are four packages – Silver, Gold, Diamond and Platinum. Monthly rental ranges from Rs 299-1499 (Dwarka) and Rs 499-4999 (Gurgaon, Noida). Each trip is a single, one-way, non-stop journey of 15 minutes or 5 kms, whichever is less. It has a fixed price of Rs. 99 (Dwarka) and Rs. 149 (Gurgaon, Noida). If your trip exceeds the 5 kms / 15 minutes window, then charges for a 2nd trip will apply. 

The packages come with different booking advance times and monthly trip limits. Further Membership details in the attached image. 

Advantages:

Unlike cab services,

•    Each member has a permanent designated driver 
•    All trips are accepted without restriction on the minimum distance
•    If the car is late by more than 15 minutes of the expected time, the trip is free of cost
•    The service is door-to-door

Unlike an owned car,

•    No hassles of driving in heavy traffic or worry about parking
•    Avoid typical ownership expenses like a full time driver, fuel, maintenance, depreciation etc.

Disadvantages:

•    For small distances only (maximum of 5 kms / 15 minutes)
•    More expensive than regular cabs! Regular cabs have no monthly membership fees either
•    For many usage patterns, owning a small hatchback will actually work out cheaper
•    Only available during specific operating hours [7:30 am - 7:30 pm]
•    Booking has to be made upto an hour in advance
•    The service is still very new and hence, the quality is unknown

Shuttle-Cars is inspired by the American car-sharing company Zipcar, the biggest such company in the world with over half a million members and an 8,000 vehicle-strong fleet.

The service currently has a fleet of only 6 vehicles and is available only in New Delhi (Dwarka), Gurgaon and Noida. Depending on the market response, there might be further expansion in the next 6-12 months. 

If members need to travel beyond the 5km limit, instead of adding a second trip and increasing the expenses, they can also opt to hire a local radio cab service associated with Shuttle-Cars, at a 10% discount.