[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Is there a cheaper and equally comfortable and efficient alternative in today's world? If so, please point me to it.

Originally Posted by sun_king

In a well defined limited scenario, you would be right. Broaden it, include more variables like a 300+ km drive, a detour to pick up a relative, an unscheduled stop at a diner, an unplanned stay at a friends house overnight. The operational cost delta between the taxi and the own vehicle would change substantially. You cannot really put a price on flexibility (read freedom).

I don't think shankar's post indicated Uber/Cab to be a replacement for the personal vehicle. I think the point is that for many scenarios/use cases the Uber's and Ola's are a better choice as compared to self drive.

Ultimately it is a mix and match, it is good to have all these alternatives so that once can chose on what works best for him/her at that day/time.

One combination that I found works for me is to take an Uber to office in the morning and take a BMTC Volvo back home in the evening (Cannot take a Volvo in the morning because of the walking time involved, crowded buses and unpredictable timings). But it works well in the evening for the time I leave.

[Ironhide]

Came across this article in Economic Times the other day. Frankly, given the pain of commute through heavily congested roads, battling fellow commuters with utter lack of road sense and scant regard for traffic rules, next to nil parking facilities, the associated maintenance, insurance etc, some of what is written in the article may be logical, though to the petrolheads, it may come across as balderdash! All the same, even though it may be a one sided point of view, it makes for interesting reading.



Cheers !

(Image and article courtesy Economic Times )

[pgupta]

Hiring and owning both has got its plus and minuses. Even in metros. So I think both will continue to exist. Yes, the new found comfort of hiring cabs in metros might trigger interesting thoughts but I don't think this can be termed as a trend.

[blacksport]

Uber and Ola has been quietly increasing the fares now that they have the market penetration. Maybe it is time to do the hire vs own math again. Even if it still tilts towards hiring soon it might tilt the other way.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/55364437.cms

[kbishwa]

Disclaimer: I may not follow what I preach!

(Request: Don't search me to kill me, for that I've modified my profile to hide from where I'm.)

Guys & Gals

(I wonder how many ladies are there in this forum! If there is a sizable number then I should instead address Dear Gals & Guys..)

Can you come up for a public cause?

No, I'm not going to ask for a donation. Or to request you to quit smoking (in Taxis), or, don't drink and drive or vice-versa! It is:

Don't buy personal cars!

Out of so many advantages (to you, and most appropriately to the society) the first & foremost is: this idea has huge potential to increase employment manyfold!

If instead taxi operators buy the same, this will improve employment (more drivers needed, more software personal to operate and maintain the online platforms, and cost of using a car would also be comparable, or may be much less based on what car you buy.

It is also more economical. We stick to the "Kitna deti hai" mindset, which is the fuel cost only. In fact the fixed cost of ownership is much more. If you buy a Rs 10 lakh car then average cost of ownership for 8 years would be as below (pls don't start scratching your head):

- May be Rs 600/day, irrespective of you run your car or keep in your parking (and there is a garage rental (deemed or actual) also!)

- May be Rs 11/km if you run it 20k km a year or would be around double at Rs 22/km if you run 10k km only..

(Note: for businessmen taking depreciation benefits, this number may be less..but not much less, say at Rs 9/km for 20k/year running, and so on!)

An indicative calculation may be supplied if someone desires!

So financial head-breaking ends here, and now comes the big intangible benefits (well benefits related to sustainability is taken care by Mr Nitin Gadkari though!)

* Rent a car with driver and relax..able to enjoy more post ride because of less fatigue!

* For enthusiasts, rent a self drive car..everytime a new car, Nano to Porsche all available..

* No tension of garages, parking, theft etc..

* Lie flat in highly subsidised Indian Railway or save your precious time flying from one place to another.

Many more points..but let's stop..have you started hunting for me??

And, it is not only me who is asking you not to buy..

Here comes Mr Nitin Gadkari, the Road Transport Minister who wants this..

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...w/60417010.cms

The minister says less cars will help reduce pollution, and save him from adding extra lane on highway! You know it is very costly (but it is made from our money only, right!)

Now let me change gear..to win few friends also (and I mean it)

Mind it dear readers, the index of number of car per capita in India is one of the lowest amongst developing and developed nations (may be proudly occupying somewhere 100th position, see how less polluting we are..)

So next day some one at higher place may desire people not to marry to control population (in fact marriage is not linked to this always..and so buying car is not always related to ...)

There is a cost involved in marrying and growing children..

We have already n numbers of deterrents in the way to buy an automobile:

* Mad tax rates..ever increasing (today is 8th Sept and tomorrow on 9th there is another GST council meeting planned to do further damage!). Looks it's a sin to earn more and to long for to spend your earning..

* Bad and unpredictable roads

* Worst traffic management and very high number of accidents increasing everyone's probability..

...stop that!

So what will you do...(well try to find me and..)

Wait for EV..become a wise person and don't buy (in stead donate that money to poor...like me)

Crap...go, dream, plan and buy! Live your life

(..to be continued!)

[GTO]

Originally Posted by kbishwa

An indicative calculation may be supplied if someone desires!

Thanks for sharing, Kbishwa! Merging your thread with an existing one that touches upon the topic.

[mpksuhas]

Something which many were discussing on this thread earlier. Reasons may not be just limited to online car aggregators, however seems like we have reached saturation in growth terms for metros as per article below.

Link

[rajushank84]

Reviving an old thread intentionally, have been contemplating this a lot. I want to compare the cost of life with & without a car:

Scenario: Small family, most commute happens on bike/office-bus, and school runs happen using the school bus. Car is used for occasional weekend outings, trips across the city to see relatives, and a couple of times a year, vacations.
Lets say, on average 1000 km.

1. Without a car:
Uber / Ola = On average Rs.14 per km = Rs.14,000 pm. Its straightforward.
On months with lower usage, cost is correspondingly lower.

2. With a small car (say, a used WagonR or the like):
Let's say, ownership over 5 years.
Buying price = Rs.4 lakhs (new or used car)
Selling price = Rs.1 lakh

Depreciation = Rs. 3 lakh = Rs.5000 pm
Fuel cost = 1000 km X Rs.5 per km = Rs.5000 pm
Insurance = Rs.1500 pm
Maintenance (say) = Rs. 1500 pm (averaged out over 5 years)
Total = Rs.13000

Obviously, the calculation will be different for different cars but I am just going with an almost-entry-level calculation. Here the costs of owning vs not owning are almost the same.

Subjective factors
I think it gets a little more complicated. A few things don't get factored in the above calculation:

• We tend to go out more to places like malls and multiplexes when we own a car, which we may not go if we live a car-free lifestyle. So our overall spending may be less if we don't own a car. (groceries get bought at small stores on an as-needed basis instead of at supermarkets, where we go in with the intention of buying one thing but somehow come home with bags and bags full of junk food).
• We may tend to do more outstation trips if we own a car vs if we don't.
• The car gives us peace of mind when it comes to "shopping days" when we need to dump a few bags in the car and continue shopping elsewhere. That can be a hassle with Uber/Ola, as there is nowhere to dump shopping bags. Flip side thought - we may actually do less shopping, which is better for the family's finances
• When owning a car, on months when usage is low, total cost does not go down correspondingly. Except fuel, other things like depreciation, insurance and maintenance remain fairly constant.
• This is arguable but - with a car, you also have to put in the "work" of driving. With Uber/Ola you get that effort for free. You can use that time to be on the phone / talk to & play with your kids etc. Some of them even have infotainment systems that play movies. This is debatable but you could argue that you could put a money value on this advantage. Flip side, you have to deal with a driver who may be irritable or drive rashly, and you have to watch what conversations you have in front of that person (I am getting nitpicky).

All things given, personally the option of not owning a car is attractive especially in metros, with the ever-increasing parking problem. Unless we start seeing a lot of dedicated high-rise parking structures all around.

[avishar]

Well, this discussion would have only gone in one direction considering this is Team-bhp.

But something I have noticed is that, friends of my generation, who were born in the early 90s and who have been working for five years have no interest in cars.

Absolutely zero.

The majority of them have not even bought a gear-less scooter with their 5 years of income. The cars that they do have are the ones owned by their parents, back 'home'. And I bet half of them cannot even drive.

And its not like they are lacking in money. These are double-income-no-kids and can afford the occasional holiday abroad and enough visits to trendy restaurants and malls to keep their Instagram pages churning.

I see some of them posting Instagram selfies of them sitting in a car, with a description of the fantastic weather outside while showing a picture of a face. I get excited and ask, 'Oh you bought a new car?' (I kind of remember people only by the cars they own, lol)

'No,no' she says. 'Are you mad, that was in my Uber'

'Why don't you guys buy a car, then?' I ask.

'But why?' she says

She takes a Uber everyday to office.

Sometimes when I come back to the city, and I meet up with my school buddies and we are out on a drive, I will be driving and...

"Aree wow. That is the new Amaze. This is the first one I have seen on roads. Looks good na? Look at those tailights, very Volvo S90-ish, no? Nice car, nice car. You get petrol and diesel both with this, and also CVT with both also, but autos are only available with V..."

"Wait, wait...watch on your left there is new facelifted i20 coming. Nice color no? The orange is like Baleno orange. The rear end is a it busy now, but it looks a bit hefty. What do you guys think? Feature packed boss..."
'But it says Asta. Hyundai Asta?'
'Aree that is the variant re baba. Uff'

And that point I usually stop. I realize I am not with my car buddies. I am with non-car people.

Non-car people are not interested in cars anymore. It is not even an aspirational buy. I know people who are making bucket loads, but won't own a car. How often do you see people on your Facebook timeline posting photos of collecting their brand new car from a showroom? Very few, isnt it? But there will be 25 million pics of the passport and the boarding pass where the poster cleverly blocks out the destination but displays the flight number.

I do not know why they do that because 8 hours later they will post an Insta story of them Prague. What a surprise.

At-least if people bought cars, I can have a meaningful conversation with the school friend or college friend to advise them on what to buy, other than the once a year Happy Birthday message.

[manjubp]

But all this calculation fail, when one has to try 5-10 times to get a cab between 8-10 PM in areas like ecospace/ORR in Bangalore, and then most of the time wait time of not less than 10-15 minutes in normal day. On a rainy day or Friday it would be much worse.

I used to take atleast 2 days in a week Uber, 2 days company transport and a day self drive, but due to availability of cabs or lack of it, now I take 3 days a week company transport and 2 days self drive.

Also the cost of Rs.500-650 for 22Kms is not something cheap, it use to be 250-350 earlier.

[sudev]

Over the last three four years my thought has been keep one beast - I keep a GV AT (bought cheap as it was pre-owned) - for outstation trips and special - including emergency - trips within Delhi NCR. And use OLA / Uber for everything else. If OLA / Uber is not available start the car.

GV lets me do off road no road scenarios while within city normal use is to haul any biggish item or late night run to the nearby ice cream parlour.

Some outstation trips with Zoom or similar also done when numbers of passengers justified it.

Economic and ownership combined to be best choice for me.

[deehunk]

I agree with bhpian Manju's views, cabs are not cost effective anymore and there is no regulation of the fares. There are still hundreds of drivers who ask for cash, who keep us waiting for 15+ minutes early morning before canceling booking and then those who are completely unsafe.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by manjubp

But all this calculation fail, when one has to try 5-10 times to get a cab between 8-10 PM in areas like ecospace/ORR in Bangalore, and then most of the time wait time of not less than 10-15 minutes in normal day. On a rainy day or Friday it would be much worse.

I used to take atleast 2 days in a week Uber, 2 days company transport and a day self drive, but due to availability of cabs or lack of it, now I take 3 days a week company transport and 2 days self drive.

Also the cost of Rs.500-650 for 22Kms is not something cheap, it use to be 250-350 earlier.

+1.
Also what price you can pay for the peace of mind that a personal car offers in times of emergency.

It may not make sense to buy a second or third car. But as primary mode of commute and transportation, cabs have a long way to go to earn our trust.

Every week there are safety related incidents reported on media involving app based cab aggregator. All this doesn't inspire confidence to give up on personal car.

[Aroy]

I think that for regular commute, nothing beats Uber/Ola, provided they are available. There have been instances, especially during rush time, when neither was available within a time span of half an hour or more. Taxis also score if there is a parking problem at destination, or when you attend a late night party.

For local travel - shopping, visiting friends, nothing beats a personal transport. Then there are days when there is public transport strike or heavy rain. No taxis (including yellow-black) are available.

So in my opinion, it is worth while having a small car for commuting small distances and using Taxis for all other jobs.

[1100D]

All it takes is one rainy/stormy evening (too frequent at this time of the year at my location) when you have decided to make use of an app-cab and suddenly neither cell network is consistent, neither are aggregator's, to add to that, the vehicles aren't even nearby. Would love someone to talk to me at that time to convince me on giving up my own vehicles.