[GTO]

We're huge fans of call-taxi services, especially on nights out & when visiting areas without parking facilities. Meru launches the Plus Service, which is basically a more premium offering over it's regular point-to-point cab service.

So, what's different vis-a-vis renting a car for a full day from the many organised & disorganised players?

• You only pay for the actual time & distance that you have used the rental car for. Therefore, you don't have to pay for a fixed 4 or 8 hours of use (as is usually the norm). If you use the cab for 3 hours, pay for that time alone. The total charge is a combination of distance travelled & the time spent waiting.

• Why would you rent a Meru Plus cab over their regular service? To start with, you can retain the Meru Plus car for a longer duration, including a multi-point trip.

• Meru Plus is available for outstation trips like Mumbai to Pune or Nasik.

• The rate is a steep Rs. 21 / km, and Rs. 2.5 / minute of waiting time. We've seen organised players rent out a Maruti Dzire or Toyota Etios for 8 hours / 80 kms at Rs. 1,500 - Rs 1,800. That is probably a better option if you're looking at full-day rentals. Organised players also offer half-day rentals starting at Rs. 900. It appears that Meru Plus has outpriced itself. A regular Meru Cab costs Rs. 17 / km and only 50 paise / minute of waiting time. Even for outstation trips, renting a full-size vehicle like the Toyota Innova from the rental market will work out cheaper. We would consider Meru Plus only for 2 - 3 hour trips that include a lot of stops, and not many cumulative kms.

• Fleet includes the Maruti Dzire (not recommended for back-seat comfort), Tata Manza (highly recommended) and Toyota Etios (recommended).

For more information, and to book a Meru Plus cab, click here or call on 33993399.

Related Threads:

Meru Business Model

Alternative to Driving

Comprehensive Call Taxi review thread

[.sushilkumar]

They could have avoided Dzire IMO with it;s miniscule boot and no rear seat comfort, specially so when we indian;s usually travel with whole house hold in outstation trips. Any ideas which version of Dzire is this. Most probably the Old Dzire which MSIL is launching for taxi market .

On fare : -

How do they expect people to pay 21 rs / KM when i can hire a more comfortable , spacious innova for 11-12 rs / KM with a driver for whole day and no need to pay waiting charges as well. I hope they were in their senses while devising for these fares.

[libranof1987]

One of the few things that'll help them make this work is the brand image. Corporations might just use their services to ferry outstation guests as Meru is a trusted name over the less-known taxi hire services.

Steep fares indeed!

[RAV1]

It's a good move but the choice of DZire is confusing, is DZire really considered a premium car by the general population ?

On a similar note, are there any cab companies that provide 'real' premium vehicles ? Say, i want to take my wife out of town for an anniversary trip - i can plan everything else to be an luxurious experience but the cab drive to the airport will be a downer - some airlines (e.g: Emirates) has a tie up with Hertz to provide Mercs for their business class and First class customers but there do not seem to be other general options !

Business opportunity ?

[tanwaramit]

Very very pricey, I have hired more comfortable Innova for long distance trips with no headache of breaks etc at just Rs 11 per km.

at Rs 21/km and using Dzire plus 2.5 bucks per minute of waiting time, the one day cost will come to around 5-6k.

Better to hire from other players in the market.

@RAV1 : in NCR there is a service available from dealers such as Mann, who provide elite high end cars such as 7 series beemer and Merc S class, all depending on your taste and pocket. Try that for airport pick up and drop.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by .sushilkumar

How do they expect people to pay 21 rs / KM when i can hire a more comfortable , spacious innova for 11-12 rs / KM

Well, the "regular" Meru cabs charge Rs. 17 / km. They should have stuck to the same pricing. After all, more of the same = higher revenue, isn't it?

I don't know of Innovas for 11 bucks, but do know of plenty at 15 - 16 rupees. Either one is substantially cheaper than the Meru option. Of course, the only advantage of Meru is, there's no 4 / 8 hour commitment.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

One of the few things that'll help them make this work is the brand image.

True. Although I do expect a downward revision in pricing.

Originally Posted by RAV1

On a similar note, are there any cab companies that provide 'real' premium vehicles ?

Few cars more premium and unreal than this

[.sushilkumar]

Originally Posted by GTO

Well, the "regular" Meru cabs charge Rs. 17 / km. They should have stuck to the same pricing. After all, more of the same = higher revenue, isn't it?

Agree Completely Sir but it appears they got greedy in the thought process & forget to come out of that greediness

Originally Posted by GTO

I don't know of Innovas for 11 bucks, but do know of plenty at 15 - 16 rupees. Either one is substantially cheaper than the Meru option. Of course, the only advantage of Meru is, there's no 4 / 8 hour commitment.

Head Over to Delhi. we office pals regularly hire innova 's at that rate ( +-1 re here or there, Max i have paid so far is 12 rupees / Km ) from our neighborhood taxi stand for our weekend travels to hills. Or is to so that Mumbai is costly compared to Delhi .

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[mayankjha1806]

In my opinion this initiative (Not sure if they have launched in Bangalore) is a dud before start. My earlier employer had some sort of corporate tie-up with Meru, for all their executive travels within city and runs to the airport. After running fine for sometime it was discontinued as there were many instances of cabs not showing up at all, showing up late, or worse picking up someone else who was from the same locality and was ready to pay more to the driver. Leaving our employee stranded without any means to get to the airport, eventually missing the flight.

Unless they fix the current service (like they were earlier), customers would go elsewhere, and also currently there is a reason not to use Meru for this service as they are more expensive than some others who provide better quality service at cheaper cost.

[speedsatya]

Meru Cabs service just sucks in Bangalore ! We have had cabs not turning up inspite of having received the confirmation SMS !

Easy Cabs in Bangalore are much more reliable .

Just cant help laughing at the choice of a Dzire as a cab .

[magikrider]

there is this new taxi service which has recently started called tab cab (call: 63636363) they use only toyota etios i think and charges are also similar to meru i think. maybe makes more sense as all their etios cars are spanking new and you don't have to sit in old abused logans and esteems or also pay anything premium like meru plus!

[ghodlur]

Although the Plus service introduction is fine, will only add to their income and make their presence felt in so called "premium" market. I really doubt their sustainability coz once every quarter the Meru's are off road for so many reasons.
If they wanted to get the Premium tag, they needed to get some premium cars not new Dzires or Etios. Will the new fleet also be run on CNG?

[NetfreakBombay]

I feel this is a good service. For example, if you have to go to areas where parking is a problem.

This service would ensure that there is a cab waiting for you once you are done with running errands at one place.

[rv3]

This service is launched only in Mumbai. I checked my Meru (I'm a regular user) account, nothing came up. They have a separate website from the normal merucabs site. Also, the Day and night charges are the same which is better. Here in Bangalore the night service has a premium charge of 19.25/km.

Also, for normal Merucabs booking through phone, a service fee is collected. Bookings on website are free. Not sure if this is the same with the Plus service?

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Meru Cabs service just sucks in Bangalore ! We have had cabs not turning up inspite of having received the confirmation SMS !

Easy Cabs in Bangalore are much more reliable .

Just cant help laughing at the choice of a Dzire as a cab .

I used to be an ardent Meru fan but i stopped, why?

1: Need to log in to book on line
2: When I want an airport drop at 7.15 am, giving 12 hours notice - no cabs available!
3: Cab getting a bit grotty

I tried Easycab - no login nonsense
Cabs - much better condition
Always available

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I used to be an ardent Meru fan but i stopped, why?

1: Need to log in to book on line
2: When I want an airport drop at 7.15 am, giving 12 hours notice - no cabs available!
3: Cab getting a bit grotty

I tried Easycab - no login nonsense
Cabs - much better condition
Always available

Personally in Bangalore my experience with both Meru and Easy cabs has been pretty good so far, but then my usage is mainly for to/for from the airport which all cab vendors prefer due to long distance and big bill. In terms of car conditions, overall Meru is slightly worse than easy cabs in my opinion but I think its just a matter of time for easy cabs as well, since I believe Meru has been around longer.